Al Nassr complete RSL trio in ACL Elite semi-finals | OneFootball

Senegalese forward Sadio Mane remained focused on the ultimate prize as his Al Nassr side rounded up the Roshn Saudi League trio in the AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals in style, putting four goals past Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos in the third quarter-final clash.

The former Liverpool winger scored the second goal in a 4-1 thumping of the Japanese side as he moved within two matches of becoming the first player to win both the AFC Champions League and the UEFA Champions League, an honour that could also be shared by Cristiano Ronaldo and Aymeric Laporte, should Al Nassr go all the way.

"It was a very important win, but we have to step up for the next round," said Mane in a message to the fans after the final whiste.

"Let's keep pushing together. We know the target, but we have to take it step by step and win it together."

After a slow start to the game, the side from Riyadh finally took the lead in the 27th minute thanks to Jhon Duran who showed true striker’s instincts to follow up on the rebound after Australian international defender Thomas Deng watched his attempted clearance hit his own post instead, before falling for the Colombian who was left with the easiest of finishes for his third continental goal.

The goal prompted Yokohama F. Marinos to push forward, leaving spaces behind that were almost instantly exploited by Stefano Pioli’s men, with Otavio driving the ball forward past the halfway line and feeding Mane who fired into the near corner with his left foot to double Al Nassr’s advantage.

Seven minutes before the interval, Al Nassr added their third of the night after Marcelo Brozovic’s deflected strike caused problems for Japanese goalkeeper Park Il-gyu who could only push it as far as Cristiano Ronaldo whose improvised finish confirmed his career goal number 934.

The fourth goal of the night arrived just four minutes after the restart, with midfielder Ali Al Hassan playing a crucial role. First, he dispossessed youngster Riku Yamane in the middle of the pitch, before picking up Otavio’s through pass and firing an effort that was parried by Park before Duran hit the loose ball into the back of the net.

A fine passing move for the Japanese side saw them pull one back with substitute Kota Watanabe finding the bottom corner.

Watanabe’s night ended on a negative note in the 73rd minute after he brought down Aiman Yahya to earn a second yellow card and leave his side chasing the result with ten men.

Al Nassr will keep a keen eye on Sunday’s encounter between Qatar’s Al Sadd and Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale to find out their semi-finals opponents.

The weekend’s results mark the first time in the competition’s history three teams from the same nation have qualified to the semi-finals, with Saudi Arabia guaranteed at least one representative in May 3rd’s final at Alinma Stadium.