“The atmosphere reminded me of our match against Suwon Samsung Bluewings of Korea Republic back in 2011 in the semi-final as there were a lot of fans who helped us reach the final."

Man-of-the Match Hassan Al Haydos expressed his gratitude to the fans after Al Sadd's 3-1 win over Al Nassr.

“The match was exceptional in terms of the result and the performance that we had. We created many scoring chances tonight and had a great physical performance.”

Coach Răzvan Lucescu was overjoyed with Al Hilal's 3-1 win over Al Ittihad in the 'Saudi Clasico' on Tuesday.

"We won the AFC Champions League two years ago, and I want to experience that joy once more. It was a great feeling so I want to have that again. I try to play well in each game in order to reach that pinnacle a second time."

Urawa Red Diamonds' Shinzo Koroki admits that the thought of winning a second Continental title is the driving force for the team's campaign.

“Al Haydos is a role model and I told him that he’s a special one. He is a leader on the pitch and he’s one of the best players in West Asia, not only in Qatar.”

Al Sadd coach Xavi praised the performance of Qatar national team captain Al Haydos, who was a constant thorn for Al Nassr.

“I have more belief after tonight that we can be the champions in the AFC Champions League. We are in the semi-finals and let’s see, for sure we are going to try our best.”

Guangzhou Evergrande’s elimination of champions Kashima Antlers has left Fabio Cannavaro increasingly confident his side can reclaim the continental title for the first time since 2015.

"This is not my first time to be in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League. We reached this stage twice before in 2013 and 2015, both times the semi-final and then the final respectively. With all our team's efforts we have achieved these results: We are focused on winning titles all the time."

Guangzhou Evergrande goalkeeper Zeng Cheng insisted the two-time Continental champions are hungry for more glory.

"I do feel really sorry for them [the supporters] that we couldn't win. We will not forget this feeling, though, and we will be determined to play better in the three remaining domestic competitions."

Kashima captain Ryota Nagaki apologised to the Antlers faithful after the team's title defence ended at the quarter-final stage.