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#ACLElite - Best Goals: Semi-final cast almost complete
Kuala Lumpur: After six rounds of voting, the #ACLElite - Vote for your best goal is taking shape ahead of the AFC Champions League Elite™ 2024/25 resuming.
Fans have voted for the best goals from both the East and West Zones and the-AFC.com presents the semi-finalists.

WEST

Matchday One: Frank Kessie v Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis FC
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The Al Ahli Saudi FC midfielder  garnered almost 67 percent of the votes to advance to the semi-finals.

Al Ahli needed only three minutes to storm into the lead when Riyad Mahrez picked out the run of Kessie, who controlled the ball without breaking stride before slamming an unstoppable shot past Alexis Guendouz.

Matchday Two: Riyad Mahrez v Al Wasl of UAE
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Mahrez garnered 54 percent of the votes to finish ahead of the other four contenders.

Al Ahli were swift and efficient as they went ahead in the third minute when Roger Ibanez’s long ball was expertly brought down by Mahrez before he calmly slotted past Khaled Al Senani.

Matchday Three: Gabri Viega v Qatar’s Al Rayyan
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The Al Ahli Saudi midfielder received 90 percent of the votes to advance to the semi-finals.

Al Ahli Saudi’s high-pressing approach was rewarded in the 76th minute when Veiga opened the scoring by curling the ball into the back of the net directly from a corner.

Matchday Four: Alexis Perez v Al Sadd SC of Qatar
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Perez of Al Wasl, who garnered 41% of the votes, edged out Aleksandar Mitrovic of Al Hilal SFC (40.56%) by just a whisker to earn his place into the semi-finals.

Al Sadd midfielder Mohamed Camara gave the ball away cheaply in his own half to Perez and he strode forward to hit a right-footed shot from 30 yards that took a huge deflection off Boualem Khoukhi to beat stranded goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham.

Matchday Five: Ivan Toney v UAE’s Al Ain
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Toney, who struck the first of his two goals in the 70th minute as Al Ahli took a 2-1 win, garnered almost 90 percent of the votes.

With the score locked at 0-0 and with just 20 minutes remaining, substitute Toney gave Al Ahli the lead as the former Brentford forward rose to nod home Riyad Mahrez’s free-kick past Khalid Eisa in the Al Ain FC goalmouth.

Matchday Six: Mohanad Ali v Persepolis FC of Islamic Republic of Iran
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Ali's audacious lob earned him 46 percent of the votes.

The 24-year-old forward gave Al Shorta the lead seven minutes after the Iraq international forced Persepolis goalkeeper Alexis Guendouz to thump the ball clear in the game’s first opportunity.

EAST

Matchday One: Arif Aiman v China PR's Shanghai Port FC
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The Johor Darul Ta'zim winger received 38 percent of the votes to advance to the semi-finals.

A solo goal of the highest order, Arif waltzed his way into a shooting position before curling the ball in to kick-start JDT's campaign in style.

Matchday Two: Anderson Lopes v Ulsan HD FC of Korea Republic
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The Yokohama F. Marinos forward edged out Juan Muniz of Malaysia’s Johor Darul Ta’zim with almost 33 percent of the votes to reach the knockout stage.

Lopes ran almost half the length of the pitch before curling a shot into the bottom corner to seal a big win for Marinos.

Matchday Three: Cryzan v Japan’s Yokohama F. Marinos
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The Brazilian forward for Shandong Taishan received almost 55 percent of the votes to finish ahead of his four challengers to advance to the semi-finals.

Zeca laid off the ball for Cryzan to drill a low shot into the bottom corner to break the deadlock just before half-time.

Matchday Four: Matias Vargas v  Kawasaki Frontale of Japan
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The left winger, who has since moved to Saudi Pro League side Al Fateh SC, scored for Shanghai Port in the 83rd minute of their clash against Japan's Kawasaki Frontale.

Vargas received the ball on the edge of the box and despite being surrounded by Frontale players, was still able to fire a shot into the top corner with very little back-lift.

Matchday Five: Jasir Asani v China PR’s Shanghai Shenhua
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Asani, who leads the scorers' chart with seven goals, netted in the 58th minute as Korea Republic's Gwangju FC edged China PR's Shenhua 1-0.

Less than a minute after coming on as a substitute, Asani delivered for Gwangju with a smart volley from the centre of the box for the only goal of the game.

Matchday Six: Kim In-sung v Vissel Kobe of Japan
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The FC Pohang Steelers  midfielder garnered 50 percent of the votes to advance into the semi-finals

As the ball arrived on the right for Kim, it did not look like a dangerous situation for Vissel but Kim lined up a shot from an almost impossible angle and drilled the ball straight into the far corner.

The search for the best goals will continue with two rounds of league stage matches still to be played.

Don’t forget to cast your votes!