Doha: A breathtaking performance of attacking football took Al Sadd into the semifinals of the AFC Champions League after the Qatari champions stormed past Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr 3-1 in the second leg at their home ground in Doha on Monday. Xavi Hernandez-coached Sadd had lost 1-2 in the away leg, but in front of their cheering fans, they thoroughly outplayed their rivals in every department for a 4-3 aggregate victory. South Korean Nam Tae Hee came back from an injury to provide added bite to Sadd’s attack which was led by Baghdad Bounedjah and Akram Afif. Both of them helped themselves with a goal each, with Afif opening the scoring in the 26th minute and Bounedjah sealing the issue with a calmly taken penalty in the 83rd, while Hassan Al Haydous also scored, a stunner in the 59th that gave Sadd the firm belief that it was going to be their day. Al Haydous had missed a couple of chances early in the game, drawing a save from Nassr goalkeeper Brad Jones before failing to hit the target from an even more promising position while at the other end Saad Al Sheeb made a fine stop to deny Guiliano in the 22nd. Sadd were attacking relentlessly and their effort bore fruit in the 26th minute. The move started on the left with Baghdad finding Nam, whose beautiful cross was headed home by Afif. Sadd were hitting the top gear with Bounedjah and Al Haydous missing chances. Their soaring spirit, however, was dampened for a moment by a goal out of nowhere from Nassr in the 33rd minute. Sadd defence took too much time to clear the ball and Tarek Salman ended up fouling Abderrazzaq Hamadallah just outside the box. The former Al Rayyan striker’s free-kick took a deflection of the defensive wall before going inside, wrong-footing Al Sheeb. After the brief moment of shock and despair, Sadd went on with the job, urged by their fans. Hassan’s cross from the left was straight at the keeper while Al Haydous’s free-kick from the right at the near post caught Jones by surprise but did not have the dip to trouble him. Sadd started the second half with more patient build-ups and just three minutes into the restart Gabi found Nam free inside the box, but the South Korean forward could not make the most of it as he lost his footing at the crucial moment. In the 59^th minute though, Al Haydous finally got hold of a shot and it left Jones a mere spectator rooted to his spot while the ball bulged the net. Sadd then lost right-back Pedro, who was playing more of a right-winger, to what looked like a knee injury and Hamid Ismael came as his replacement. Ismael immediately drew a sharp save from Jones as the pattern of the game continued to remain the same. However, with players like Noureddine Amrabat, Hamadallah Nassr and Giuliano de Paula, Nassr had a few matchwinners of their own and the Brazilian came close giving them a crucial equaliser with a rising shot that sailed a couple of feet wide of the post. Sadd then goat the gaol they were looking for when Akram Afif, found by a perfect ball from Al Haydous, was fouled inside the box by Abdullah Madu. Referee Dilan Perreira had no hesitation in pointing to the penalty spot and after Nassr’s briefly disputed the decision, Bouneidjah calmly slotted the ball past Jones into the bottom corner to make it 3-1. Sadd were looking for more and could have got more had Bounedjah and Afif missed chances but it was enough for a famous victory. Sadd will take on the winner of the other last-eight match between Al Hilal and Al Ittihad in the semifinals.