AFC - Omar Khrbin and Salem Al Dawsari scored the goals as Al Hilal secured their place in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals after a 2-1 victory over Esteghlal Khouzestan in the second leg of the Round of 16 on Tuesday saw the Saudi side run out 4-2 winners on aggregate.
Needing at least two goals to have any chance of progressing after last week’s 2-1 defeat in the first leg, Esteghlal Khouzestan started brightly and went in front on 12 minutes at Thani Bin Jassim Stadium when Mehdi Zobeidi squared for Aloys Nong to tap into the back of the net.
But Al Hilal levelled four minutes later as Khrbin stooped low to unorthodoxly head home Mohammed Al Burayk’s cross from the right for his fourth goal of the competition.
Al Hilal came out strongly after the interval and scored a deserved second with eight minutes remaining when Carlos Eduardo found substitute Al Dawsari, who burst into the box and fired into the roof of the net to book a spot in the last eight.