LUIZ FELIPE SCOLARI guided Guangzhou Evergrande into the semifinals of the Asian Champions League (ACL) on Tuesday after the 2013 champions held Kashiwa Reysol to a 1-1 draw at home and advanced 4-2 on aggregate.

    Guangzhou had a 3-1 lead going into the second leg but conceded a goal in the 12th minute through Cristiano’s header to allow the Japanese club back into the contest.

    Huang Bowen’s strike in the 30th restored Guangzhou’s two-goal advantage.

    Former Brazil manager Scolari joined the Chinese Super League champion in June, replacing Fabio Cannavaro.

    Later at Doha, Saudi club and two-time Asian champion Al Hilal completed a 6-3 aggregate win after a 2-2 draw with Qatar’s Lekhwiya. Diago scored the equalizer with three minutes remaining to allow Al Hilal, which won the first leg 4-1, to advance to the semifinals.

    Carlos Eduardo scored from close range to give the Saudi side the lead after 25 minutes, but Ismail Mohammed and Chico Flores gave Lekhwiya some hope before Diago leveled late.

    “We started with a very high tempo first 30 or 35 minutes and we wanted to build the game and score,” said Al Hilal coach Georgios Donis. “But after we scored we had a lot of problems with the conditions and we lost a lot of energy and we weren’t too aggressive.”

    Another semifinalist will be determined later when Japan’s Gamba Osaka hosts South Korea’s Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The teams drew 0-0 in Seoul three weeks ago.

    Also, United Arab Emirates side Al Ahli has the advantage at Dubai after beating Iranian side Naft Tehran 1-0 in Tehran in the opening leg.

    (SD-Agencies)