Iranian Clubs Seek Victory in AFC Champions League

On matchday two of the AFC Champions League, Iranian clubs will line up against their rivals on February 19-20.

According to the AFC website, Zobahan will host Lokomotiv of Uzbekistan at Foolad Shahr Stadium in Isfahan Province.

Zobahan will be looking to bounce back from an opening day defeat in Group B when it hosts the Uzbeks on Monday.

The Iranian club started the Champions League with a loss against Qatari Al Duhail FC on Feb. 2. Brazilian forward Kiros gave Zobahan an early lead against Al Duhail last week, but the Iranian side was unable to hold on and ultimately lost 3-1 after receiving three goals in the final 16 minutes.

Lokomotiv got off to a perfect start last week by posting a 5-0 victory over Al Wahda of the UAE in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, with Ikromjon Alibaev’s stunning effort from inside his own half.

This will be the first meeting between the sides, although Zobahan’s only defeat in eight games against any Uzbek team was way back in 2005 to Pakhtakor, while Lokomotiv’s last trip to Iran resulted in a 2-0 defeat for Esteghlal in 2017.

 First Victory

Both Tractorsazi Tabriz of Iran and Qatar’s Al-Gharafa opened the tournament with loss and will be looking to take all three points of the game to revive their presence in the tournament.

After suffering a 3-2 reversal to the UAE’s Al Jazira in their opening Group A fixture, Al Gharafa too will be looking to add points on the board when welcoming Tractorsazi to Thani Bin Jassim Stadium in Al Rayyan on Monday.

New acquisitions Mehdi Taremi from Iran and Dutch Wesley Sneijder both got their names on the scoresheet on matchday one, but their goals were not enough as Al Jazira claimed all three points in an entertaining encounter.

Tractorsazi also got off to a losing start when the 2017 quarterfinalists Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia defeated them 1-0 in Oman as the Tabriz side’s return to continental action after a one-year hiatus ended in disappointment.

However, Tractorsazi has not been beaten in Qatar on two previous trips and, should the team leave Qatar with the record unscathed, will be firmly back in the hunt for the two qualification spots.

 Reds and Blues

Two other Iranian clubs Persepolis and Esteghlal will meet their rivals on Feb. 20. Esteghlal will clash with the Saudi champion and last year’s Champions League runner up Al Hilal club at Al-Seeb Stadium in Seeb, Oman, and Persepolis will meet Al Sadd of Qatar at Jassim Bin Hamed Stadium in Doha.

Persepolis was the only Iranian club starting the tournament by winning its first match. On Feb. 13, the Reds hammered Nasaf Qarshi of Uzbekistan 3-0 at Azadi Stadium in west Tehran.

On the same day, Esteghlal lined up against Qatar’s Al Rayyan. In a hard-fought match, the Blues took solace in one point as both teams scored two goals and shared the points of the game.