Wanderley stars in 3-0 El Jaish demolition

The Blues started with a flourish with Burkinabe winger Pitroipa, Wanderley and Barrada raiding El Jaish.

Al Nasr made a big statement of intent with their performance at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in Doha on Wednesday night. The Blues demolished El Jaish 3-0 in the first leg of the AFC Champions League quarter-finals.
The trio of Wanderley Santos, Abdelaziz Barrada and Jonathan Pitroipa hunted in packs and tamed the Qatari side in their own backyard. Santos scored a brace thus proving that he is up for big challenges at Al Nasr after a move from Sharjah. Al Nasr head coach Ivan Jovanovic's intention was clear from the start as he unleashed both his new foreign strike force - Brazilian Santos and Moroccan Barrada.
They didn't disappoint with Wanderley and Jonathan Pitroipa scoring in either halves to almost book a berth in the semis. The Blues started with a flourish with Burkinabe winger Pitroipa, Wanderley and Barrada raiding El Jaish.
In the sixth minute, Wanderley had the first shot on target. It was resolute defending by El Jaish as the trio of Wanderley-Barrada-Pitroipa was having a rapid fire session with keeper Khalifa Ababacar. The Qatari side hit back with strikes from midfielder Romarinho Ricardo and forward Sardor Rashidov but both were off mark. Too many posers were asked by Al Nasr and something had to give. And finally the defence crumbled.
In the dying minutes of first half, Pitroipa and Wanderley combined for a one-two and the Brazilian converted to make it 1-up for Al Nasr. Coach Sabri Lamouchi started the second half by replacing defender Ahmad Moein with Malian midfielder Seydou Keita.
The two-time Uefa Champions League winner made an immediate impact with a thunderous shot on target in the 48 minute. Romarinho kept Ahmad Shambih and defence busy. And just when the Qatari club were getting back into the game, the Blues struck back in the 54th minute with Pitroipa. It was a great play by Barrada, who set up the goal for Pitroipa. Sitting pretty with a 2-nil cushion, Jovanovic made his first change.
He replaced Pitroipa with Salem Saleh - the star of the 4-1 win over Tractorsazi in the Round 16. He was immediate contributor by assisting Wanderley for a third goal. Wanderley marked a dream debut with Al Nasr. And despite a third, the Blues didn't rest and kept pushing forward with hunger. Al Nasr will now host El Jaish on September 14 for return leg. Al Nasr's performance is a terse warning not just for other AFC clubs but also for the AGL teams. Watch out!
Goals: Wanderley Santos 45, 85
Jonathan Pitroipa 54