The Mexican side, who had to survive a second-half fightback by their local opponents, were rewarded with a Wednesday tie against England's Premier League leaders, who have a bye to the last four.

Al Sadd, who qualified as champions of host nation Qatar, were playing in their own stadium although their fans were outsung by a noisy contingent of Monterrey supporters behind one of the goals.

The stadium was only half full, a similar problem to that which dogged the recent world athletics championships held in Qatar, which will also host the 2022 World Cup.

The Mexicans hit the crossbar early on and went ahead when Leonel Vangioni collected the ball in midfield, took one touch and rifled a left-foot shot into the top-right hand corner of the net from 35 metres in the 23rd minute.

Al Sadd, coached by former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez, had more possession but Monterrey increased their lead in first-half stoppage time after an extraordinary misjudgement by Gabi, the host team's most experienced player.

The former Atletico Madrid player sent a ball back deep into his own half from near the touchline but it was intercepted by Rogelio Funes Mori who scored easily.

Asian Footballer of the Year Akram Afif wasted a glorious chance to pull one back for the hosts by side-footing over the bar when unmarked but Baghdad Bounedjah did claw one back after getting in front of a defender to head in after 66 minutes.

Carlos Rodriguez then added a third for Monterrey in the 77th minute, before Abdelkarim Hassan pulled another back for Al Sadd in the 89th minute with a similar effort to Vangioni's to ensure a nervy finale for the Mexicans.

Earlier on Saturday, a delightful goal by substitute Bafetimbi Gomis gave Asian champions Al Hilal a 1-0 win over their African counterparts Esperance.

Former Swansea City, Lyon and Galatasaray striker Gomis player ran onto a ball between the Esperance defence, flicked it over Mohamed Ali Yacoubi's sliding challenge and, without letting it touch the ground, fired into the far corner in the 73rd minute.

The Frenchman, who was top scorer in the Asian Champions League with 11 goals, had only been on the field for eight minutes before his strike earned the Saudi Arabian side a match against South American champions Flamengo on Tuesday.

Australian Associated Press