Esteghlal recorded a hard-fought 1-0 victory against 2017 runner-up Al Hilal thanks to an own goal from Abdullah Al Hafith on Matchday two of the AFC Champions League Group D clash on Tuesday at Seeb Sports Complex in Muscat, Oman.
Al Hilal came close to opening the scoring in the final minutes of the first half when new signing Achraf Bencharki set up Ali Al Bulayhi to cut inside and strike from the edge of the box, but saw his shot saved by goalkeeper Mehdi Rahmati, AFC reported.
Esteghlal kicked-off the second half with a bang, taking the lead through an own goal by defender Abdullah Al Hafith after Senegalese striker Mame Thiam’s effort on target was deflected off the defender to wrongfoot goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi just seconds after the restart.
The visitors’ troubles were doubled when goalkeeper Al Habsi was sent off in the 67th minute after handling the ball outside his area.
Both teams created a couple of scoring chances through to the end of the match but the result on the scoreboard did not change.
The loss put Al Hilal at the bottom of Group D after two matches, with only one point from the goalless home draw against the UAE’s Al Ain.
Disrespectful Act
In a impertinent act, Al Hilal players did not heed the minute of silence to respect the victims of the Sunday’s airplane crash in central Iran which claimed 66 lives.
The minute was planned by Iranian clubs, agreed by the AFC and observed in clashes Tractorsazi, Zobahan and Persepolis played against their rivals
Saudi teams have a history in disrespecting the silence minute before the games. The Saudi national football team did not observe a minute’s silence for the victims of the London Bridge terror attack ahead of their match against Australia last June.
Coach Sacked
Following the defeat, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal Argentinean head coach Ramon Diaz was fired.
A statement published on the club’s official Twitter account thanked the Argentine for his efforts which brought the Riyadh-based club a domestic league (2016–17 Saudi Professional League) title and 2017 King Cup title in addition to a spot in the 2017 AFC Champions League final which they lost to Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds.
Diaz was appointed as Al Hilal boss in October 2016, four months after resigning from his post as Paraguay national team coach.
In his only full AFC Champions League campaign, he led Al Hilal to a 13-match unbeaten run last year which was brought to an end by Urawa in the second leg of the competition’s final.
Juan Ignacio Brown steps up from his current post as Al Hilal Under-21 coach to replace fellow Argentinean Diaz on an interim basis. His first test on the continental stage will be a home encounter with Qatar’s Al Rayyan on Matchday three on March 6.
On the same day, Esteghlal will travel to the UAE to face Al Ain.
Reds Failure
Also on Tuesday, a second successive brace from Baghdad Bounedjah powered Qatar’s Al Sadd to a 3-1 home win over Persepolis in the Group C Matchday two encounter.
Persepolis began the tournament last week with a decisive triumph of 3-0 over Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium but the Reds were not lucky enough in their second match.
Playing the first continental home game in three years, Jesualdo Ferreira’s Al Sadd began the match on the front foot with the triumvirate of Spanish Xavi, Akram Afif and Bounedjah linking well in attack.
Their dominance paid off in the 36th minute when an unmarked Bounedjah surged into the box to meet Afif’s cross and head in the first goal.
After ending the first half without a shot on target, Persepolis resumed the game looking to making amends.
However, the visitors’ hopes were dashed as Bounedjah got on the scoresheet once again in the 51st minute. A clever assist from Xavi set up the Algerian striker, who took his time in the box before netting with a curled finish for his fourth goal of the campaign.
The Qatari side added to its lead in the 66th minute, as substitute Boualem Khoukhi scored with a stinging shot after being teed up by Ali Asad.
Al Sadd was denied a clean sheet deep into additional time after Persepolis struck a consolation goal through Siamak Nemati, with the very last kick of the game.
Despite the heavy defeat, the Iranian side is now second in Group C with three points behind Al Sadd which has collected the maximum six points out of two games.
Al Sadd will travel to Uzbekistan to face Nasaf on Matchday Three while Persepolis will line up against UAE’s Al Wasl.
