Persepolis and Esteghlal reached the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League as the table-toppers of their groups.
After overcoming Qatar’s Al Sadd 1-0 on Monday, Persepolis qualified for the next round as the winner of Group C, the AFC reported on its website.
Backed by a vociferous home crowd, Persepolis needed less than three minutes to go in front. Mohammed Ansari whipped in a tricky cross from the left wing and Al Sadd defender Morteza Pouraliganji inadvertently headed past his own keeper to give the Tehran giants an early lead.
Needing just a draw to finish top of the group, Al Sadd pushed forward in search of the equalizer but the attacks were not particularly effective, with only Xavi and Baghdad Bounedjah coming close to scoring in the opening half.
The visitors looked more dangerous in the second half and Boualem Khoukhi thought he had leveled the scores when he finished off Bounedjah’s cross in the 62nd minute. However, the effort was ruled out for offside.
Persepolis looked comfortable defending its narrow lead and goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand had very little to do for most of the game, until a nervy final 10 minutes, when Al Sadd almost broke the home crowd’s hearts.
First, Bounedjah rattled the crossbar from close range with a stinging strike in the 87th minute, then just seconds later, Akram Afif registered what was surprisingly Al Sadd’s first shot on target but Beiranvand was on hand to palm the ball away.
The effort by Beiranvand to keep his goal closed led to his fifth clean sheet in the current campaign to put him atop the list of goalkeepers with most clean sheets at the tournament. Also Sadegh Moharrami, defender of Persepolis, was chosen as the player of the match.
The Reds finished the group stage with 13 points, one ahead of Al Sadd which goes through as runner-up. Persepolis will face the second-placed team from Group A in the Round of 16, while Al Sadd plays the winners of the same group.
Esteghlal Downs Al Hilal
Esteghlal secured first place in Group D with a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal thanks to Vouria Ghafouri’s goal on Monday at Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, in Kuwait City.
Al Hilal started the brighter of the two sides and had its first attempt on goal six minutes in, when Achraf Bencharki came close to opening the scoring but his header from the edge of the six-yard box sailed over the bar.
The Saudi side continued to produce attacks and had their second big chance in the 19th minute when Mokhtar Fallatah received the ball from Mohmmed Al Burayk’s cross and dribbled past his marker before attempting a strike, only to see his chance saved at the bottom left corner.
Despite Al Hilal’s domination, Esteghlal took the lead against the run of play, following a defensive mistake by Saudi international Yasir Al Shahrani after he failed to clear the ball in the penalty area in front of Vouria Ghafouri, who fired a shot into the center of the net in the 36th minute.
Seven minutes into the second half, Al Hilal almost leveled the score when Fallatah’s shot hit the left post after a pass from Bencharaki. Two minutes later, Ghafouri responded for the Iranian side, rocketing a ball from a narrow angle but his attempt was saved by goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi.
Esteghlal’s victory earned them the top spot in Group D with 12 points (three wins and three draws), while Al Ain of the UAE finished as runner-up, two points behind. Last year’s runner-up Al Hilal ended their campaign bottom of the group with just two points.
Keeper of Esteghlal, Seyyed Mehdi Rahmati hit his all-time record of 20 clean sheets in AFC Champions League.
Esteghlal will play the Group B runner-up in the Round of 16 while Al Ain will face Group B winner Al Duhail of Qatar.
