Persepolis lost 0-4 to Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia in the first leg of the 2017 AFC Champions League semi-final and it means the Iranian team needs to record its biggest win ever in the competition in order to advance to the final match.
According to afc.com, without the top scorer Mehdi Taremi, Persepolis needs the rest of the frontline to step forward. Nigerian striker Godwin Mensha is expected to score more goals like his double in the first leg against Al Hilal in Abu Dhabi three weeks ago.
No other Persepolis player has scored more than a single goal in the competition, but the trio of Mohsen Mosalman, Vahid Amiri and Ali Alipour are all capable of finding the back of the net and will need to do exactly that if the Iranian club is to have any chance of making the final.
Al Hilal is the only unbeaten team in this year’s competition. Syrian striker Omar Khribin has been in fine form for both club and country scoring several important goals for both.
His hat-trick in Abu Dhabi helped put the Saudi Arabian side well on their way to a second final in four years and left the Iranian opponent with a mountain to climb at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman on Tuesday.
Persepolis’ first appearance in the AFC Champions League semi-finals could not have gone any worse and it means the Iranian team now needs to record biggest win ever in the competition in order to advance.
Trailing 2-0 at the break in the first leg, the Tehran club was handed a lifeline early in the second half when Abdullah Otayf was sent off, but Persepolis proceeded to concede two more and is now staring elimination firmly in the face.
It must now score at least four times, while ensuring that the opponent does not net any goal. The task may seem difficult but a look back to the competition’s history shows the club several teams achieved what seemed impossible - overturning a big first leg defeat.
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