'The Asian title is my goal' - RSL quartet stride closer to continental success | OneFootball

All four Roshn Saudi League clubs have advanced to the latter stages of their respective continental campaigns, with Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli making the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite and Al Taawoun into the last four of the AFC Champions League Two.

Al Nassr were the first to book a spot in the last eight of the continent’s premier club competition, with Jhon Duran and Cristiano Ronaldo inspiring the Riyadh club on Monday to a 3-0 home victory against Iran’s Esteghlal.

With the first leg finishing goalless in Tehran last week, the result at Al Awwal Park meant Al Nassr progressed 3-0 on aggregate.

The remaining stages of the AFC Champions League Elite, the rebranded AFC Champions League, will now be hosted in Jeddah during the last week in April and first week in May.

"I am very happy with the qualification - our goal was to go to the final stages in Jeddah and we achieved this,” Al Nassr manager Stefano Pioli said.

"I always have great confidence in the players because of our hard work in training, and sometimes the results do not do us justice, but we know that we are on the right path.

"For now, the next league match [Friday's Matchweek 25 encounter at home to Al Kholood] is the most important. But, after the international break, we will get back some players who we are missing, and we hope to go as far as possible in this competition.”

Sitting fourth in the RSL, Al Nassr were on Tuesday joined in the AFC Champions League Elite quarter-finals by Al Hilal and Al Ahli.

Al Hilal, record four-time Asian champions, comfortably dispatched Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor 4-0 at Kingdom Arena, overturning their 1-0 defeat in Tashkent seven days previously.

Hamad Al Yami, Malcom, Salem Al Dawsari and Nasser Al Dawsari got the goals to see Al Hilal, the reigning RSL champions who currently sit second behind Al Ittihad, triumphed 4-1 on aggregate.

"I congratulate the players on their performance,” manager Jorge Jesus said. “We played the match as required, controlled the game properly, and put the opposing team under pressure.

"The Asian title is my goal and personal ambition. What has changed now is that we have an extra day to recover, unlike the pressure we faced playing consecutive matches in February."

Meanwhile, Al Ahli maintained their unbeaten record in this season's competition with a 2-0 victory in their second leg against Qatar’s Al Rayyan. In doing so, Matthias Jaissle's men sealed a place in the quarter-finals courtesy of a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Riyad Mahrez got both goals in Jeddah, taking the Algerian’s record in this season’s competition to eight goals and seven assists. Al Ahli are fifth in the RSL at present, level on points with Al Nassr.

"We have shown a great mentality and have great fan support,” Mahrez said. “We want to achieve something big for the club this season, and we will have strong fan support in the upcoming rounds.

"There is still time to rest and recover for the next stage in April. Holding the finals in Jeddah will help us, and we will give everything we have to win the title."

Also on Tuesday, Al Taawoun made it a clean sweep for Saudi Arabian clubs in Asia, as they saw off Iran’s Tractor via a dramatic penalty shoutout in Buraidah to move into the AFC Champions League Two semi-finals.

After the second leg finished 2-2 to give the same aggregate scoreline, Al Taawoun prevailed 4-2 on spot-kicks. Now within three matches of continental silverware, they will face either UAE side Shabab Al Ahli or Sharjah in next month's last four.

"The match wasn't easy due to the injuries to Mutab [Al Mufarrij] and [Renne] Rivas, in addition to the suspension of Waleed [Al Ahmad],” head coach Mohammed Al Abdali said.

"Things were complicated, but we won. I thank the Al Taawoun fans and promise them that we won't stop at this stage because we will continue until the end."