AFC
Qods
Iran’s Esteghlal FC secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Al Gharafa of Qatar in their AFC Champions League Elite 2024-25 opener at the Shahr-e Qods Stadium on Monday.
A Abdalla Yousif’s own goal separated the sides going into the break before further efforts from Ramin Rezaeian and Arash Rezavand sealed the win for Esteghlal.
Esteghlal started brightly and their early pressure led to the opener in the fourth minute after Yousif turned Ramin Rezaeian’s cross from the right flank into his own net.
Al Gharafa got into the action in the13th minute after Joselu saw his volleyed attempt blocked, while Estghlalal threatened six minutes later with Mohammadhossein Eslami foiled from inside the box.
The Qatari side had a great chance in the 30th minute when Ferjani Sassi sent a delightful ball through for Florinel Coman, whose finishing left much to be desired.
Sassi then tried his luck from distance, nearly catching out Esteghlal goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini with his dipping shot narrowly missing the target.
Esteghlal were more threatening in the second half with Rezaeian striking his free-kick straight into the arms of Al Gharafa keeper Khalifa Ababacar in the 50th minute, before the Iranian midfielder set-up Saman Fallah, who pulled his effort wide.
Al Gharafa sent Mohammed Muntari and Rabeh Boussafi into the mix, but neither could change the course of the game as Esteghlal doubled the lead after Rezaeian nutmegged Matias Nani on the right flank before striking a grounded effort past Ababacar.
Rezavand put the game beyond Al Gharafa’s reach when he struck the ball home off a counter-attacking move in the 88th minute to seal the three points.
Next up for Esteghlal is a trip to Qatar where they will face Al Sadd, while Al Gharafa meet United Arab Emirates’
Al Ain.
