Abdi scored an equalizer in the match against Al-Nassr of Saudi Arabia, where Persepolis beat the Saudi Arabian team 5-3 on penalties.

Abdi beat Al-Nassr forward Abderrazzak Hamdallah in the poll.

Asian refereeing set new benchmarks earlier this year when the AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020 became the first AFC competition to successfully implement VAR across all 32 matches.

Now Asia’s premier club tournament will become the third AFC competition to embrace the latest in technology from the Quarter-finals after it was first introduced from the same stage of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

Now Asia’s premier club tournament will become the third AFC competition to embrace the latest in technology from the Quarter-finals after it was first introduced from the same stage of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabian giants Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli Saudi FC battle in the AFC Champions League Quarter-finals at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium at 4:40pm in Doha, Qatar and then Iran’s Persepolis and Uzbekistan’s Paktakur will square off at 20:45.

The VAR system, which aims to provide minimum interference with maximum benefits, is limited to four game-changing decisions or incidents, specifically – goal or no goal, penalty-kicks, direct red cards and mistaken identity decisions.

Al-Nassr will also face Al-Ahli Saudi in an all-Saudi Arabia tie.

Both quarter-finals will be played at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Wednesday, with Saturday’s semi-final also to be played at the same venue. The two quarter-finals and semi-final will be one-legged affairs.

None of the four West Zone quarter-finalists have won the AFC Champions League before, with Al-Ahli Saudi and Persepolis finishing runners-up in 2012 and 2018 respectively. Al-Ahli Saudi was also runner-up in the 1985-86 season of the Asian Club Championship.

Pakhtakor was semi-finalist in 2003 and 2004 while Al-Nassr, runner-up in the 1995 Asian Club Championship, will be appearing in its second successive AFC Champions League quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals
Fixtures

Al-Nassr (KSA) vs Al-Ahli Saudi FC (KSA)
Wednesday 16:40 (UTC +3)

Persepolis FC (IRN) vs Pakhtakor (UZB)
Wednesday 20:45 (UTC +3)

Head coach Majid Namjoo Motlagh’s men went into the game with the knowledge that only a two-goal margin win would secure their place in the Round of 16.

Al-Ahli advanced to the Round of 16 with six points as the first team and Iraq’s Al-Shorta finished in third place.

The Iranian dominance produced a goal in the 28th minute. Farshid Esmaeili received the ball down the left and fed Ghaedi on the edge of the box. The Esteghlal number 10 drilled a powerful drive that nestled into the bottom corner despite Al Owais’ best efforts to save.

Al-Ahli’s troubles were doubled seven minutes before the break as Ghaedi turned from scorer to creator, sending a cross from the right flank into the far post for Ali Karimi who evaded his marker and headed home Esteghlal’s second.

After the restart, Esteghlal was quick to cement its place in the Round of 16 with a third goal.

Karimi supplied a chipped cross from the edge of the penalty area for Cheick Diabate and the Malian forward guided his header past Al Owais to make it 3-0.

The result means Esteghlal finishes second behind confirmed Group A winner Al-Ahli, goal difference giving the Iranian the advantage over Al-Shorta who is consigned to a narrow group stage exit.

Al-Ahli of Saudi Arabia has already booked its place in Round of 16 and the second ticket to this stage will have to be decided on Matchday Six.

Both sides went into the game needing a win to join group leader Al-Ahli into the next round, with Al-Shorta holding a three-point lead, but having played a game more.

Following a Mohammed Mezher corner, Mazin Fayyadh climbed unmarked inside the box, powering a header towards goal, but Seyed Hossein Hosseini made a quality reflex save to deny Al Shorta their opening goal inside the first 10 minutes.

Fayyadh was the danger man again five minutes later, the winger advanced through the heart of Esteghlal’s midfield and tried his luck with a left-footed effort from outside the box. Marwan Hussein tried to pounce on Hosseini’s spilled save, but defender Roozbeh Cheshmi was first to the ball and made the clearance.

Al Shorta’s number 14 finally got his goal in the 25th minute. Fayyadh lost his marker once again and guided his header from Ali Fayez’s corner kick into the bottom far corner of Hosseini’s goal to open the scoring for Al Shorta.

Substitute Amir Arsalan Motahari equalized the match in the 68th minute.

The result means Esteghlal needs to defeat Al-Ahli by two clear goals on Matchday Six, while a 1-0 win for the Iranians would mean they have an identical goal-difference to Al Shorta and the two sides would have to be separated by their disciplinary record.

Al-Shorta’s hopes of qualification now relies on Esteghlal losing its next game.

The Saudi Arabian team was held to a 0-0 draw against Iran’s Shahr Khodro FC on Matchday Five of Group B on Sunday.

Shahr Khodro had lost its four previous matches.

The result sees Al Hilal through to the Round of 16, while Shahr Khodro, already eliminated on Matchday Three, took its first ever point in their AFC Champions League history.

A win for the Baghdad-based side or a score draw with more than a goal will be enough to seal progress to the knock-out stage; a feat no Iraqi team in the history of the AFC Champions League has achieved.

Al Shorta beat Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli in its Matchday Four fixture to move up to second, but having drawn Esteghlal 1-1 at home in its opening match, losing to the Iranian team on Sunday will leave them bottom of the group, as will a goalless draw should Esteghlal manage to beat Al-Ahli in the final match of the group.

“This match is a crossroads for both teams. I had previously said this match is the decider and we simply have to win it to avoid waiting for the last game,” said a defiant Shahd.

“We can make history and become the first Iraqi team to reach the Round of 16 and this is the objective for all of us. The group permutations are a bit complicated; we know that if we draw, Al-Ahli will have the top spot secured and might field a weakened team against Esteghlal on Matchday Six, so we want to stay away from these permutations and focus on winning the next game.”

Al-Shorta welcome back Iraqi international right-back Alaa Mhawi from suspension. The 24-year-old had been sent off in the Matchday Three fixture against Al-Ahli, but coach Shahd will be without the services of talismanic midfielder Mohammad Qassim who suffered an injury in the previous match.

“Mhawi is one of the options available to us again, but we focus on playing as a team, rather on individual players. As for Qassim, he is a talented player who offers us a lot of individual solutions, missing him is a blow to our team, but I have faith in all players in my squad,” Shahd concluded.