Qatar’s Al Rayyan lost 0-2 to Iran’s Esteghlal in their AFC Champions League Group D match at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Monday.

Esteghlal thus booked their place in the knockout stage.

With the win, Esteghlal took their tally to nine points, while Al Rayyan remained on six to be third in the group.

Al Ain moved to second place with seven points after beating Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in other action in Group D.

The hosts got off to a flying start and needed just four minutes to open their account when Server Djeparov converted a cross from Farshid Esmaeili past goalkeeper Omar Barry.

Al Rayyan captain Rodrigo Tabata attempted his luck from long distance, but his strike went wide in the 20th minute as the Qatari side intensified the pressure in an effort to find an equaliser.

Esteghlal doubled their lead in the 58th minute through Vouria Ghafouri, who stepped up to drive home from the penalty spot.

The early goal put pressure on the Al Rayyan defence and the scoreline would have swelled had it not been for the alertness of Barry.

Al Rayyan will have to battle Al Ain in the sixth and final round on 16th April to earn the second Group D berth in the Round of 16.

The Lions tried hard to find a breakthrough and came closest to scoring on the hour mark when Moroccan striker Abderrazaq Hamdallah missed the target.