Al Ittihad and Pohang Steelers underlined their status as title favorites by seizing commanding first leg advantages in their AFC Champions League semi-finals against Nagoya Grampus and Umm Salal.

In Korea Republic, a headed goal in each half ensured that Pohang's dominance was rewarded with a 2-0 advantage to take into next Wednesday's second leg with a two-goal lead. However, it was Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad who grabbed all the headlines, with the two-time Asian champions twice coming from behind to run out 6-2 winners over Nagoya, who played the majority of the game with ten men.

Clearly, this emphatic win puts the Saudis in a strong position and leaves their Japanese rivals, like Umm Salal, facing an uphill struggle when the final four lock horns again in six days' time. Join FIFA.com as we review all the action.

The big game
Pohang Steelers (KOR) 2-0 Umm-Salal (QAT)

The fans at a chilly Steelyard witnessed almost one-way traffic for Pohang, who encountered few problems in maintaining their unbeaten record against Umm Salal. The hosts opened brightly, with No Byung-jun heading wide after just 40 seconds before Brazilian striker Denilson sent a cross-cum-shot crashing against the crossbar two minutes later.

However, despite their team's dominance, the home crowd had to wait until first-half stoppage time for their first goal, when captain Hwang Jae-Won headed home a Kim Jae-Sung corner. Pohang continued to press forward after the interval and, after squandering a handful of chances in front of goal, they doubled their lead when Kim turned from provider to scorer, popping up to head his side into a 2-0 win.

The surprise
Al Ittihad (KSA) 6-2 Nagoya Grampus (JPN)

It is hardly unusual to see Al Ittihad sweeping aside opponents at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium, but the scale of their 6-2 triumph over Nagoya surprised even their own supporters. Yet it was the hosts who were first caught by surprise, when the visitors overcame the sixth-minute dismissal of defender Akira Takeuchi to take an unlikely lead through Josh Kennedy's header nine minutes later. Ahmed Hadid equalised for Ittihad on 26th minute, but the Japanese side restored their lead through Naoshi Nakamura soon after to spark tension amid the home fans.

However, as their legs began to tire in the second half, the visitors found themselves on the back foot, and Mohammed Noor took full advantage. After restoring parity on 66 minutes, the Al Ittihad captain scored his second 11 minutes later to give the Saudis the lead for the first time. Luciano Leguizamon then scored from the spot to double Ittihad's advantage with six minutes to go and Noor completed his hat trick in the first minute of added time, before Amine Chermeti rounded off the resounding win almost the last kick of the match.

The star
In explaining his side's late collapse, Nagoya Grampus coach Dragan Stojkovic singled out Noor as the architect of their demise. After steering Al Ittihad to two continental titles in 2004 and 2005, the 31-year-old again demonstrated his willpower, leadership and ability to score crucial goals in leading his side to a famous comeback win.

The stat
27 is the impressive goal tally that has been racked up by Al Ittihad in ten AFC Champions League matches thus far.

What they said
"My players played one of the best matches since I took my position with Al Ittihad. We came from a defeat to win an important match against one of the greatest teams in Japan... My players proved that they are superstars, only talented players can achieve what they have done," Al Ittihad head coach Gabriel Calderon.

2009 AFC Champions League semi-final first-leg results
21 October
Al Ittihad (KSA) 6-2 Nagoya Grampus (JPN)
Pohang Steelers (KOR) 2-0 Umm-Salal (QAT)