Al Ittihad beat Nagoya Grampus 2-1 away, 8-3 on aggregate to book a place in the AFC Champions League final in Tokyo on Nov 7.

Ittihad captain Mohammed Noor, who bagged a hat-trick in last week's 6-2 win in Jeddah, had two assists as the ‘Tigers' went two ahead through goals by Saleh Al Saqri in the 42nd minute and Tunisia striker Amine Chermiti in the 59th minute.

Grampus substitute Keita Sugimoto pulled one back with a spectacular overhead kick in the 67th minute, but Nagoya were unable to pull off a miracle for their faithful fans in the Mizuho Athletic Stadium.

The two-time winners will now stay in Japan as they prepare for the competition's first one-leg final at the National Stadium, where the Saudi Arabian champions will aim to add to triumphs in 2004 and 2005.

K-League giants Pohang Steelers were scheduled to play Umm Salal in Doha in the later semi-final second leg after beating the Qatari side 2-0 last week.

Nagoya coach Dragan Stojkovic made five changes from last week's line-up, including a rare start for 20-year-old goalkeeper Toru Hasegawa.

Takahiro Masukawa returned to central defence after recovering from swine flu, while Japan striker Keiji Tamada started on the right wing and Yuki Maki partnered Australia striker Josh Kennedy up front.

Protecting a four-goal cushion, Ittihad coach Gabriel Calderon resorted to a 4-5-1 formation, with Chermiti playing as a lone striker and Noor parading his skills on the right flank.

Nagoya pounded the Ittihad goal with an early barrage of crosses, but it was the visitors who had the first effort of note in the 22nd minute.

Hasegawa could only punch Manaf Aboshgair's free-kick as far as Saud Khariri, whose powerful volley toward goal was spectacularly headed off the line by Yoshizumi Ogawa, the winger playing right-back.

Al Saqri, playing wide left, got behind the Nagoya defence in the 31st minute but couldn't beat Hasegawa with a shot from inside the area.

Nagoya came close two minutes later, when Macedonia international Igor Burzanovic did well to release left-back Shohei Abe down the flank and his cross was headed onto the bar by Kennedy.

Ittihad responded within a minute as Noor's right-wing cross was cushioned back by Chermiti to Aboshgair, whose shot from the edge of the area was deflected wide by Maya Yoshida.

In the 38th minute, Ogawa squared to Tamada on the edge of the box, but his shot was deflected wide by centre-back Redha Takar, who missed the first leg through suspension.

Ittihad finally settled their nerves with a goal before the break. A counterattack led to right-back Rashed Al Rahab crossing low to Noor, whose close-range reverse flick was saved by Hasegawa before Al Saqri converted the rebound.

Kennedy had an opportunity to equalise three minutes after the restart, but weakly stabbed the ball toward goalkeeper Mabrouk Zaid with his right foot after the ball fell into his path in front of goal.

Ittihad always looked dangerous on the counterattack and in the 54th minute Chermiti narrowly missed converting a cross from Al Saqri after fine build-up by Aboshgair and Noor.

The 21-year-old Chermiti, signed on loan from Hertha Berlin in August, made amends five minutes later when he headed home a delightful diagonal cross from Noor on the right.

Sugimoto then scored one of the goals of the competition in the 67th minute. The 27-year-old, who came on only minutes earlier for Tamada, sprinted into the left of the area to receive Magnum's flighted chip and chested it first time into the air before following up with a stunning bicycle kick that left Zaid stranded.

The chances kept coming for both sides. Aboshgair's long-range shot in the 71st minute was well saved by Hasegawa, while three minutes later Burzanovic shot wide after dispossessing left-back Obaid Al Shamrani in the area.

In the 88th minute, Kennedy set up Magnum in front of goal, but the Brazilian winger could only shoot weakly into Zaid. Ittihad came close to extending their lead in the 90th minute when Chermiti intercepted a back pass to Hasegawa, but from distance he shot wide of an empty net with his right foot.

Hasegawa then had to pull off saves from substitute Hicham Aboucherouane and Chermiti in stoppage time as Ittihad showed reserves of quality and energy that will serve them well in Tokyo.