DOHA, April 23 — Qatar’s Lekhwiya thrashed Iran’s Persepolis 3-0 to go top of Group A in the AFC Champions League yesterday but will have to wait until the last round of matches to ensure qualification for the knockout phase.

Qatar Stars League champions 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.

With Persepolis close behind on nine points and Al Nassr on eight, the group has gone down to the wire with the last two games scheduled for May 6 set to decide the teams’ fates.

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.

It was Lekhwiya talisman Youssef Msakni who gave them the lead with a 69th minute header past goalkeeper Sousha Makani after Korean Nam Tae-hee had cut through the defence and crossed the ball to him.

With seven minutes remaining, Nam doubled his side’s advantage with a fine individual effort, before Afif put the issue beyond doubt in injury time.

Earlier yesterday, Saudi side Al Nassr defeated already eliminated Bunyodkor 1-0 in Tashkent with Polish midfielder Adrian Mierzejewski scoring the winner in the 33rd minute.

Al Nassr would have been eliminated if Bunyodkor had won but the Saudis held on to their narrow advantage to stay afloat in Group A with three valuable points.

In Group B, an Asamoah Gyan strike in the 58th minute gave UAE’s Al Ain a 1-0 over Saudi Arabia’s Al Shabab who had been already eliminated.

With Uzbekistan’s Pakhtakor staying in contention with a 1-1 draw against Iran’s Naft Tehran, there’s still a lot to play for in the final round in May.

Meanwhile in East Asia, Lee Dong-Gook's late double including an outrageous overhead 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 knockouts. — AFP