Esteghlal got on the scoresheet after eight minutes, when Cheick Diabate fired home from close range following a set piece.
Mehdi Ghaedi then put Esteghlal 2-nil up with a fine header from Diabate’s pinpoint cross in the 40th minute, and doubled his tally two minutes after the restart, with right-footed shot after a blunder by the al-Rayyan defense.
Amir Arsalan Motahari bagged the fourth for the Iranians with six minutes on the clock, before getting his brace in the stoppage time, to book their place in Group A of the 2020 AFC Champions League.
In another match played simultaneously, Iran’s Shahr Khodro FC managed to defeat Qatari Al Sailiya in a close encounter in penalty shoot-outs to advance to the group stage of the AFC Champions League.
Here is the final arrangement of the teams in the 2020 ACL after the Preliminary stage wrapped up yesterday:
MNA