Fahad Al Muwallad's deflected
strike on 78 minutes made it 1-2 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate to the
two-time champions, crushing the hopes of the massed ranks of red-clad
Guangzhou fans in the southern Chinese city.
Lucas Barrios' individual
effort and Dario Conca's well-taken penalty, awarded questionably after Gao Lin
was adjudged fouled in the box, looked to have been enough for the Chinese
champions who at that point were through on away goals.
But Al Muwallad popped up late
to squirm a low shot into the Guangzhou goal as the 2004 and 2005 Asian
champions from Saudi Arabia deservedly reached the semis after their 4-2 win in
the first leg in Jeddah.
Al Ittihad will now play either
cross-Jeddah rivals Al Ahli or Sepahan of Iran in the last four. But the
heartbreak was palpable for World Cup-winner Lippi's side, who were in dominant
form before being hit by a classic sucker-punch.
"Football can be very
cruel at times and unfair," Lippi said afterwards. "We have worked
all year to become better and to reach our objectives and we came to the ACL
with one objective. But I believe we should have passed this round.
"We played well and had
plenty of chances to score. Unfortunately we have been eliminated and I want to
thank the players for their efforts in this game, they have been playing like a
team."
Barrios gave Guangzhou the lead
in the 19th minute, holding off the Al Ittihad defence before turning to clip
his shot to the right of Saudi Arabia international goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid.
It was no less than the Chinese
side deserved having seen Barrios hit the crossbar just seconds earlier in an
opening quarter of the game dictated by Lippi's team.
And with 10 minutes remaining
in the half, Guangzhou claimed the vital second goal when Conca converted with
aplomb from the penalty spot after Osama Al Harbi was ruled to have brought
down Gao in the area.
That left the scores level on
aggregate and with Guangzhou holding the upper hand due to the two away goals
scored in Jeddah.
Naif Hazazi -- Al Ittihad's
two-goal hero in the first leg but a surprise substitute here -- sent an
unmarked header straight into the arms of Li Shuai from close range as the game
hit the hour-mark, underlining the Saudis' threat.
But Guangzhou had ample
opportunities to extend their lead, with Conca hitting the post with a
long-range effort in the 62nd minute just two minutes after seeing his sliding
effort deflected wide.
With just 12 minutes remaining,
Guangzhou were made to pay for their profligacy when substitute Al Muwallad's
shot was deflected past Li to book Al Ittihad's place in a fifth AFC Champions
League semifinal in nine seasons.
"I always tell the players
the same thing, that if we want to play the game without playing it's
impossible to win," said Al Ittihad's Spanish coach Raul Caneda.
"In the first half we were
not able to play and in the second half we didn't have an amazing game but we
had the pride to have a go with the ball and cause problems."
"We couldn't just go out
and think about waiting for the end of the game because of the 4-2 in the home
game."
Guangzhou, making their
tournament debut and bankrolled by a wealthy property firm, were the first
Chinese team to reach the quarter-finals since 2006.
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