AFC Champions League:
Persepolis looking to bounce back; Sepahan, Nassaji gearing up for Saudi tests
Persian Gulf Pro League champion Persepolis will be chasing first points in the new season of the AFC Champions League against Qatari champion Al Duhail in Doha on Monday.
Elsewhere, Sepahan and Nassaji Mazandaran will come up against star-studded giants of the Saudi Pro League, hosting Al Ittihad and Al Hilal respectively.
Reds eyeing recovery
Runner-up in 2018 and 2020, the Tehran Reds got off to a disappointing start in the Asian elite clubs competition, falling to a 2-0 defeat against Al Nassr on home soil in Group E.
What added to the misery for Yahya Golmohammadi’s side was a couple of injury setbacks for star players Mahdi Torabi and Vahid Amiri, leaving both Iranian internationals a major doubt for the game in Doha, while midfielder Milad Sarlak is ruled out of the contest after being red carded on Matchday One.
New signing Nabil Bahoui will be available for team selection, though the Swedish striker will likely start from the bench due to lack of match fitness.
Persepolis was last in action on the opening day of the competition, whereas Al Duhail will step onto the pitch at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on the back of Thursday’s 2-1 away victory over Al Markhiya in the Qatari top flight, where Brazilian superstar Philippe Coutinho, who joined on loan from Aston Villa in the summer, bagged his first goal for the club.
The former Liverpool and Barcelona player is set to make his debut in the continental event, having missed the goalless stalemate against Istiklol in Dushanbe.
Kenyan striker Michael Olunga has been in dazzling form this season, scoring five in as many games in the Qatar Stars League.
Persepolis supporters have fond memories of the previous encounter between the two sides in the AFC Champions League, when three second-half goals saw the Reds come from behind to beat Al Duhail 3-1 at the Azadi Stadium – 3-2 on aggregate – and progress to the 2018 semifinals.
Inspiring debut
Nassaji Mazandaran could not have dreamt of a more delightful debut in the Asian showpiece as Ehsan Hosseini and Mohammadreza Azadi netted two unanswered goals to help the northern Iranian club walk away with maximum points against Mumbai City in India.
“From today, opponents will have a different level of respect for us,” Rahmati said after the game, and now hopes his side – the surprise leader in Group D – will build on the maiden victory when facing Saudi heavyweight Al Hilal.
Al Hilal sits atop the Saudi league table, yet to concede a defeat after eight rounds of matches, though there has already been rumors of Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus losing control of a star-packed dressing room, which includes Neymar, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Malcom, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and Kalidou Koulibaly.
Mitrovic and Koulibaly were both on the scoresheet as Al Hilal beat Al Shabab 2-0 at home in the domestic league on Friday.
However, the Saudi giant was lucky to leave the pitch with a single point in a 1-1 draw against Navbahor on the first day in the group.
Georgian Toma Tabatadze netted 10 minutes after the break to silence the crowd at Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium, only to see his strike canceled out by Saudi center-back Ali al-Bulayhi’s header in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
In Group C, Sepahan will be after a first win of the campaign but standing between the Isfahan-based club and the three points is formidable Al Ittihad.
Sepahan thought it had done enough for a victory in the group opener against Iraq’s Air Force Club before an Ali Jasim’s 89th-minute equalizer saw the two sides share the spoils in a 2-2 draw.
Having spent massively in the summer, Sepahan has enjoyed a perfect run in the Iranian league, though the club was handed a four-point deduction by the Iranian federation for a “budget cap violation” earlier in the month, dropping to fifth in the table.
The good news for Sepahan boss Jose Morais is that Al Ittihad will be without injured French striker Karim Benzema for the visit to Isfahan.
Al Ittihad is second in the Saudi league and played to a goalless draw away to Al Feiha on Saturday.
Haroune Camara’s strike was followed by a brace from Brazilian Romarinho to lead Al Ittihad to commanding 3-0 home win against Uzbekistan’s AGMK in the Group C opener.