AFC Champions League: Cristiano Ronaldo, Akram Afif and the key players as finals head to Jeddah

We're down to the last eight in Asia's premier club competition

Cristiano Ronaldo will spearhead Al Nassr's AFC Champions League challenge. Reuters

The champions of Asia will be decided by a new finals phase competition in Jeddah over the next eight days.

Gone are the two-legged, home and away finals of the AFC Champions League Elite’s recent past.

Instead, the quarter-finalists have all congregated in the Saudi port city for a snappy, centralised knockout event, with the final to be played on Saturday, May 3.

Some of the sides – like Riyadh superpower Al Hilal – are perennial contenders, but the three Saudi teams will face some challenges over the coming days.

Al Hilal

Manager: Jorge Jesus

Key player: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

A club with such massive expectations cannot afford to slip up. Fail in this competition, and Jorge Jesus might well be out of a job, despite overseeing a record winning run and a domestic double last season.

Hilal – who are like the Real Madrid of Asia, having won their continental title more times than anyone else – have fallen way short of those standards just lately.

It has parallels to how Madrid have been stuttering in Europe this year, and their respective managers are both said to be on rocky ground.

That is a coincidence, given Jorge Jesus and Carlo Ancelotti, Madrid’s manager, are understood to be the two contenders to be the next Brazil coach.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, centre right, is pivotal to Al Hilal's hopes of winning the AFC Champions League. Getty Images

Gwangju

Manager: Lee Jung-hyo

Key player: Jasir Asani

As a yo-yo club between South Korea’s top two divisions, Gwanju have been a revelation in their first season playing AFC Champions League football.

They earned their tournament debut by a best-ever K League placing of third last season. Then they promptly thrashed Yokohama F Marinos, last season’s beaten finalists, 7-3 in their first match.

Their method is unrelenting attack, led by their Albanian forward Jasir Asani. He – and his team – may have been little heralded before the start, but with nine goals he is the tournament’s joint-leading scorer.

Al Ahli Saudi

Manager: Matthias Jaissle

Key player: Riyad Mahrez

Off the pace in the Saudi Pro League title race, the Jeddah giants will have their confidence buoyed by the switch to continental competition.

The matches are being played in their backyard, after all, where they enjoy extraordinary home support.

Plus their quarter-final fixture against Buriram United is against the lowest-ranked side left in the tournament. The Thai side finished sixth in the league in the East region.

Ahli will be a threat to anyone, seeing as they boast players like Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney, who have 13 goals between them in the competition so far.

Al Ahli's Riyad Mahrez has bagged eight goals in 10 matches as well as providing seven assists in this season's competition. Getty Images

Buriram United

Manager: Osmar Loss

Key player: Narubadin Weerawatnodom

No Thai club has more Champions League appearances – nine – than Buriram, and they were title winners back at home last season.

They were sixth of the eight sides who qualified for the knock out phase of the competition in the Eest region, then scrapped out a 1-0 win over Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta'zim in the last 16.

While they may be outsiders for the title – or even to lay a glove on Al Ahli in the last eight – the Thai side do at least lay claim to having the best nickname in the competition. They are known informally as “The Thunder Castle.”

Yokohama F Marinos

Interim manager: Patrick Kisnorbo

Key player: Anderson Lopes

The Japanese side are a total contradiction. Consistent enough to return to the finals phase for a second season running, having been runners-up to Al Ain last year under Harry Kewell, and having topped the league in the East region.

Yet so erratic that they were thrashed 7-3 by Gwangju on the opening day of this season’s competition, while they also sacked manager Steve Holland on the eve of travelling to Jeddah.

Gareth Southgate’s former assistant was dismissed after just four months in charge, having won one of 11 league matches.

Given their form – they are bottom of the J League – they will be outsiders when they face Al Nassr.

Al Nassr

Manager: Stefano Pioli

Key player: Cristiano Ronaldo

No side will attract more attention - mainly, but not only, because of the great Ronaldo. Al Nassr are saturated with talent, with the likes of Sadio Mane, Jhon Duran, Aymeric Laporte and Marcelo Brozovic in their ranks.

They might be too far behind Al Ittihad to mount a challenge for the Saudi Pro League title, but they will be optimistic of taking out a first Champions League title. Especially given they are on the other side of the draw to the other two Saudi giants, Hilal and Ahli.

That does bring with it the possibility they could meet their great rivals, Hilal, in an all-Riyadh final in Jeddah on May 3.

Al Nassr's Jhon Duran celebrates scoring the third goal with Cristiano Ronaldo and Angelo Gabriel during their Asian Champions League round of 16 second Leg at Al Awwal Park in Riyadh. Reuters

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring from the penalty spot against Esteghlal on Monday. Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring with Al Nassr teammate Sadio Mane. Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo scores from the penalty spot. Reuters

Jhon Duran scored twice to help Al Nassr qualify for the ACL quarter-finals. Reuters

Jhon Duran with Ali Lajami after scoring the third goal. Reuters

Kawasaki Frontale

Manager: Shigetoshi Hasebe

Key player: Yasuto Wakizaka

No Japanese club has played in the Champions League more times than the Fujistu-owned side. However, this is their 11th appearance in the competition and they are yet to make it as far as the semi-finals.

Their quarter-final tie looks to be the one most weighted in the favour of the side from the East region.

Kawasaki finished second in their league phase, while Al Sadd muddled through in the West then only stumbled unconvincingly through their knockout fixture.

Al Sadd

Manager: Felix Sanchez

Key player: Akram Afif

The two-time champions from Qatar were somewhat lucky to make it this far. Al Wasl, the UAE champions, had more than enough chances to put them out over the course of the two legs in their last 16 meeting.

As a counter to that, Al Sadd showed they are clinical enough to put sides away, even when they are no at their best.

Not least Akram Afif, their outstanding winger who was the difference between them and Al Wasl.

He is among the most gifted attackers in the tournament, and will need to be at his best if they are add to the titles they won in 1989 and 2011.