DOHA: Qatar's Lekhwiya thrashed Iran's Persepolis 3-0 to go top of Group A in the AFC Champions League on Wednesday but still face an agonising wait to find out if they qualify for the knockout phase.
With Saudi side Al Nassr scraping a 1-0 victory over already eliminated Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor, the last round of matches will be crucial to the outcome of the group from which the remaining three teams still entertain hopes of making the last 16.
Lekhwiya produced a commanding second half performance with goals from Youssef Masakni, Nam Tae-hee and Ali Hassan Afif giving them 10 points from five matches.
But with Persepolis close behind on nine and Al Nassr on eight, the group has gone down to the wire with the last round scheduled for May 6.
Lekhwiya, who were beaten 3-0 by Persepolis when they clashed in February, were determined to make amends on their home turf but had to wait until late in the second half to breach the Iranian side's defence.
Once again, it was their talisman Msakni who gave them the lead with a 69th minute strike from an assist by Korean Nam Tae-hee.
The roles were reversed in the 83rd minute when Nam himself scored off a pass from Msakni before Afif killed off the game with a goal in injury time.
Earlier, Polish midfielder Adrian Mierzejewski struck the only goal as Saudi champions Al Nassr edged Bunyodkor 1-0.
The Saudi side went into the match in Tashkent knowing that defeat could see them ousted with one game still remaining, but took the lead in the 33rd minute through Mierzejewski's second goal of the group phase.
In East Asia, Lee Dong-Gook's late double including an outrageous overhead kick were not enough to stop Jeonbuk Motors losing 3-2 to Kashiwa Reysol as their campaign hung in the balance.
The ex-Middlesbrough striker, one week away from turning 36, became the tournament's all-time top-scorer with a superb cameo which nearly overturned Kashiwa's 3-0 first-half lead.
Lee nodded a cross into the air and smashed it home with his sublime bicycle kick on 67 minutes, before he crashed in his 27th Champions League goal with nine minutes to go.
But Kashiwa, who earned their lead through Eduardo and Kosuke Taketomi's brace, held on to book their spot in the knock-outs and leave former winners Jeonbuk sweating.
Elsewhere South Korea's Seongnam FC edged Thai champions Buriram United 2-1 to go through from Group F with one round of games remaining.
Kim Do-Heon converted a 27th-minute penalty and Nam Joon-Jae added a second 11 minutes later, before Diogo pulled a goal back for the Thais with 13 minutes left.
Gamba Osaka stormed to a 5-0 away win over Guangzhou R&F which kept their hopes alive and underlined a stunning revival in fortunes.
The Japanese treble-winners lost their first two games but two away wins in a row have left them challenging for a last-16 berth in their final group game against Seongnam.
In Group E, Chinese side Shandong Luneng recovered from an early scare to beat Vietnamese champions Binh Duong 3-1 and retain their hopes of reaching the knock-outs.
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