AFC Champions League:
10-man Persepolis succumbs to star-studded Al Nassr
Persian Gulf Pro League champion Persepolis got off to a disappointing start in the new AFC Champions League season, suffering a 2-0 home defeat against Saudi club Al Nassr in Group E.
Perhaps too much respect for Al Nassr’s global stars in Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, Otavio, and Aymeric Laporte eventually cost the Tehran Reds as they overlooked the Saudi products on the pitch, who made the difference at the game played behind the closed doors at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium – due to an AFC ban imposed on Persepolis two years ago being enforced.
An effort by Abdulrahman Ghareeb led to an own goal by Persepolis fullback Danial Esmaeilifar in the 62nd minute – 10 minutes before the Saudi international set up Mohammed Qassem, who lashed home from an acute angle to double the lead for Al Nassr.
The Saudi giant enjoyed a one-man advantage for the best part of the second half, courtesy of Reds midfielder Milad Sarlak receiving his marching orders seven minutes after the break for a second bookable offence.
The buildup to the contest had been dominated by the viral scenes of thousands of the football-mad Iranians following Al Nassr’s bus from the airport to the hotel just to get a glimpse of Portuguese superstar Ronaldo.
However, the five-time Ballon d’Or had a quiet debut at the Asian elite clubs competition as he managed a single shot on target during the course of the 90 minutes – a point-blank header in the first half which drew a superb save from international keeper Alireza Beiranvand.
On the other side of the ground, meanwhile, Persepolis looked toothless, failing to create a clear-cut chance all night, except for Shahab Zahedi heading wide a Saeed Sadeqi’s set-piece on the hour mark.
For all the quality Al Nassr players dictating the tempo of the game, Persepolis head coach Yahya Golmohammadi still believed a couple of incidents, including an eighth-minute injury for key winger Mehdi Torabi, led to his side leaving the pitch empty handed.
“The game was affected by unfortunate events for us, first Mehdi Torabi’s injury, then the dismissal of Milad Sarlak,” said Golmohammadi, who steered Persepolis to the 2020 showdown, thanks to a shootout victory over Tuesday’s opponent in the semifinals.
“After that (the sending off), we conceded and couldn’t find a way back.
“We started the second half better, but Sarlak’s red card worked against us. Congratulations to Al Nassr but for us, these big games help identify our weaknesses so that we can become stronger.”
Next for Persepolis is an away fixture on October 2 against Qatari champion Al Duhail, which shared the spoils with Istiklol in a goalless stalemate in Dushanbe.