AFC Champions League Elite:
Insipid Reds frustrated by home draw; Blues boss Nekounam walks out after defeat
A night to forget for both Tehran archrivals at the AFC Champions League Elite saw a drab Persepolis side share the points with Pakhtakor in a 1-1 draw at home, with Esteghlal falling to a 2-0 defeat to Al Sadd in Doha on Monday.
The result in the Shahr-e Qods Stadium left Persepolis, having lost to Al Ahli Saudi on the opening day of the competition, still searching for a first continental win since the home victory over Istiklol FC in October last year.
Esteghlal head coach Javad Nekounam, meanwhile, went on to announce his second resignation in five days after the game, bringing an end to weeks of chaos and uncertainty swirling around the Blues bench.
Lackluster Reds
Fresh from last week’s win against the city rival in the Iranian league, Persepolis couldn’t have asked for a brighter start against the Uzbek opponent when Ali Alipour’s fine finish put the home side in front with 40 seconds into the game.
Skipper Vahid Amiri flicked Farshad Ahmadzadeh’s corner into the path of Alipour who fired home into the roof of the net from inside the six-yard box to join legendary striker Farshad Piyous as the club’s leading marksmen across the Asian club competitions with 11 goals.
However, Persepolis, which looked to be still basking in the euphoric derby triumph, was quick to take foot off the gas as the first half wore on and was lucky to retain the lead at the break after the visitors failed to capitalize on several clear-cut chances.
Pakhtakor’s pressure paid off in the second half, with Serbian captain’s bagging the equalizer with a sublime curling effort from the edge of the box right before the hour mark.
The introduction of star winger Oston Urunov as well as Issa Alekasir and Angolan striker Lucas João did little to turn things around for the Reds, with the visiting side looking more likely to find a second goal on the counter attacks.
The frustrating draw kept Persepolis outside the knockout spots of the West Zone’s 12-team table ahead of the visit to Al Sadd in three weeks’ time.
Blues in limbo
The writing had already been on the wall for Nekounam even before the latest setback.
Having seen a significant portion of the supporters turn against him for his defensive approach to the Tehran Derby as well as his never-ending feud with the club hierarchy, Nekounam handed his resignation on Thursday, only to see his decision rejected with the Al Sadd game looming.
The game at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium could have served as last-ditch attempt to change the fortunes for the manager or, at least, a decent finale to his 15-month spell in charge, during which his team went on a 29-game unbeaten run in the domestic league and narrowly missed out on the top-flight crown last season.
The fulltime whistle, however, put a lid on yet another disappointing performance for the Blues, who have now won just two of their seven games in all competitions this season, losing three – more than they conceded across the entire previous campaign.
Esteghlal skipper Seyyed Hossein Hosseini made a horrific howler to give the home side the lead five minutes before the interval, punching the ball into back of his own net when trying to clear a corner-kick.
The Iranian international keeper still produced some brilliant saves to keep his team in the game, but Akram Afif’s spot-kick doubled the advantage for Felix Sanchez’s side in the 68th minute, after the Qatari star was brought down in the box by Rouzbeh Cheshmi.
“We knew it would be a tough game against a very strong opponent. Al Sadd is a top team with top players. I had told the team that we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes today but individual errors cost us dearly in the end,” Nekounam said in the post-match press conference.
Asked about his decision to part ways with Esteghlal, Nekounam said: “Now may not be the right time to talk about it. I had made up my mind after the Persepolis game. I’m sure it’s for the best of the club.”
Esteghlal under-21 coach Khosro Heidari is expected to serve as the interim coach for the league game at Havadar on Saturday, with the club hoping to find a permanent replacement before Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr visits next in the Champions League on October 22.
The Portuguese superstar was on the scoresheet as Al Nassr defeated Al Rayyan of Qatar 2-1 in Riyadh for a first win in the ACL Elite campaign.
Riyadh Mahrez and Roger Ibañez scored in the first half to lead Al Ahli to a 2-0 victory over the UAE’s Al Wasl in Dubai.