AFC
Doha
Iran’s Persepolis came away from Qatar with a valuable 1-0 win over Al Duhail in Group E of the AFC Champions League at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium on Monday.
A second half goal from Omid Alishah proved to be the difference as Persepolis picked up their first three points in the group.
The two sides had met eight times in the competition, with Al Duhail just edging the head-to-head record with four wins to Persepolis’ three, while they only shared the spoils once in the 2017 Round of 16 encounter at Azadi Stadium.
Both teams went into their second game having yet to open their scoring account, with Al Duhail drawing 0-0 with Istiklol in Dushanbe, and Persepolis beaten at home by Al Nassr 2-0.
Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand produced two consecutive saves to deny Michael Olunga then Sultan Al Braik as the Kenyan forward broke free and attempted to finish from inside the box, but his effort was smothered by the Persepolis goalkeeper only for the ball to fall for Al Braik whose effort was also parried away.
Persepolis responded with a quick attack that saw Omid Alishah feed Yasin Salmani who fired a powerful effort from 30 yards out that beat goalkeeper Salah Zakaria but cannoned off the crossbar.
Alishah tested the opposition goalkeeper twice inside the first ten minutes of the second half, drilling an effort from long range the Zakaria managed to parry, and trying one from closer range but with the same outcome.
It was third time lucky for Alishah who found the back of the net in an unpredicted fashion in the 63rd minute as he lined up an in-swinging cross from the left flank that passed everyone inside Al Duhail box, finding its way to the back of the net for Persepolis’ first goal of the 2023/24 campaign.
Al Duhail’s next match sees them travelling to Riyadh to face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, while Persepoli welcome Istiklol to Tehran in their Matchday Three game.
