The second leg match will be played Sept. 27 in South Korea with Ittihad hoping to protect its lead in a bid to advance to the semifinal of Asia’s premier club competition.

The two-time champion drew first blood in the 45th minute through the team captain Muhammad Nur who blasted the ball home on the rebound.

Osama Al-Muwallad then doubled the lead for Ittihad with another goal in the 76th minute before the visitors pulled one back when Dong scored in the 83rd minute.

Wendel scored the third goal for Ittihad in the 90th minute.

Korean goalkeeper Dong-dae said it was a long and tiring trip to the Kingdom and “we made a couple of mistakes in the 90 minutes of play today but we hope to recover in the other 90 minutes.”

“We are not out of the tournament because we hope to win in the return leg at home and compensate for the defeat and the goals,” he said.

Elsewhere, South Korean clubs Suwon Bluewings and Jeonbuk Hyundai both have work to do if they are to reach the Asian Champions League semifinals.

Suwon was held to a 1-1 home draw in the first leg of its quarterfinal against Iranian side Zob Ahan on Wednesday, while Jeonbuk Hyundai lost 4-3 at Cerezo Osaka in Japan despite taking the lead three times.

South Korea provided three of the eight quarterfinalists. Iran’s Sepahan hosts Qatar’s Al-Sadd in the other quarterfinal first leg.

Cerezo and Jeonbuk had met twice in the group stage earlier in the year. Both resulted in 1-0 home wins, but Wednesday’s contest was a much more open and entertaining game.

Jeonbuk deservedly led 2-1 at halftime, having played enterprising football in a competition where the visiting sides usually take few risks. South Korean international striker Lee Dong-gook scored both goals for the visitors, the second through a lucky deflection right on the stroke of halftime.

Ryuji Bando had netted the first of three equalizers for Cerezo when he prodded home a Kim Bo-kyung cross.

Hiroshi Kiyotake— a recent addition to Japan’s national team— scored the second equalizer, heading home a corner in the 55th minute.

However, Jeonbuk almost immediately went back ahead through captain Cho Sung-hwan, who also headed in a corner.

Kim scored a penalty for Cerezo to make it 3-3, and Kiyotake scored the winner in the 82nd minute, drilling home a low shot from a corner.

In Suwon, the Bluewings paid the price for missing several chances and were held at home by Zob Ahan.

The Iranian club was content to sit back and try to get an away goal on the counter-attack and that is precisely what happened 10 minutes into the second half, as Igor Castro got behind the defense and set up Mohammad Ghazi to score from close range.

Suwon’s impressive record of not having lost in 26 straight home games in continental competition was in jeopardy until Park Hyun-beom volleyed in an equalizer 10 minutes later.

The return legs will be played on Sept. 27-28 and the eventual champion will earn a place in the Club World Cup. — With input from agencies