They later faced Suwon Samsung Bluewings in a highly publicized semi-final. Suwon were favorites to win after knocking last year's runners-up, Zob Ahan, out of the running. The first-leg match was played in Suwon, South Korea. In the 70th minute of the match, Mamadou Niang of Al Sadd had a deflected shot veer past the goalkeeper, settling the score 1–0. Ten minutes later, a Suwon player was inadvertently kicked in the head by an Al Sadd defender, prompting Suwon to kick the ball out of play. While the injured Suwon player was being tended to, Niang sprinted past the keeper to score a second goal, infuriating the Suwon players. The chaos was elevated when a Suwon fan had run onto the pitch, sparking a mass melee which involved both coaching staff and players. After the fight was brought to a halt, the referee sent off a player from each team while Niang later got a red card and Al Sadd's Korean defender Lee Jung-soo had walked off the pitch in frustration.