Al Sadd sets up dream Barcelona tie

Qatars Al Sadd will play Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup after the Asian champions stunned Esperance of Tunisia 2-1 on Sunday, sparking fan violence and a pitch invasion.Newly crowned Japanese champions Kashiwa Reysol will play Santos in the other semi as they beat Monterrey of Mexico on penalties in front of a crowd of 27,525, after the game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.Al Sadds win means Asian teams have won all five meetings against African opposition at the intercontinental tournament, but more importantly the Qataris will now test themselves against the sublime Catalans on Thursday.The other major talking point will be how an irate Esperance fan managed to jump the barrier by the pitch and make for Al Sadd goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr before being dragged to the ground just feet away from him.There were several other disturbances in the stands at the state-of-the-art Toyota Stadium in Japan at the end of an entertaining game, as furious Esperance followers clashed with police and stewards.Esperance supporters and players were left seething at Chilean referee Enrique Osses after they had two goals ruled out for offside and had a strong claim for a penalty, all in the dying minutes.