AFC Champions League Elite:
Esteghlal’s perfect start ends with Shabab setback
Persian Gulf Premier League club Esteghlal had its perfect start to the new AFC Champions League Elite season ended after suffering a 2-0 loss to Shabab Al Ahli in Dubai on Tuesday.
Iranian striker Sardar Azmoun made his mark with two sublime assists, with substitutes Matheus Lima and Juan Alvina on target late in the game, as the home side made it three wins in three matches to move into second place in the West Zone’s 16-team league table with nine points, trailing fellow Emirati top-flight side Al Ain on goal difference.
Having beaten Qatari clubs Al Sadd (3-0) and Al Gharafa (2-1) in their first two games, Esteghlal dropped to fourth, level on points with fifth-placed Saudi powerhouse Al Hilal, which was stunned away from home by Qatar’s Al Shamal, losing 3-1 later in the day.
Shabab had an early chance when Wout Faes sent a through ball to Mohammad Juma at the top of the area in the 10th minute, but the forward was muscled off the ball by the Esteghlal defense.
Kauan Santos then almost exposed Esteghlal’s backline in the 14th minute when he sent Azmoun through on goal, but Esteghlal goalkeeper Habib Far Abbasi stood his ground and denied his compatriot.
Esteghlal had its first sight of goal in the 17th minute when Saleh Hardani drilled his free kick into the palms of Shabab goalkeeper Matheus Donelli, before Breno failed to connect with Santos’ curling delivery moments later.
Another chance went begging for Shabab in the 24th minute, with Santos again the orchestrator as his set piece picked out Saeid Ezzatollahi, who volleyed over the bar.
Esteghlal was almost punished for sloppy defending on the half-hour mark when Azmoun pounced on a stray pass and set up Breno, but the forward pulled his effort agonizingly wide of the right post.
Shabab started the second half on the front foot, with Azmoun slipping a through ball to Breno in the 51st minute, but the forward’s effort from inside the box was repelled by Far Abbasi.
The breakthrough came in the 69th minute when Azmoun split the Esteghlal defense open with a deep, looping ball into the box for Lima, who volleyed home past a rooted Far Abbasi.
Esteghlal desperately pushed for an equalizer but was left exposed on the counterattack with seven minutes remaining, as Azmoun laid the ball off for Alvina to score from the edge of the six-yard box and round off the victory.
The third round of fixtures in the continental club competition proved one to forget for Iranian clubs, as Tractor remained in search of its first victory in the league stage, losing 2-0 away to Al Ain on Monday.
Esteghlal will look to get back to winning ways when it takes on Al Shamal at Basra International Stadium – serving as the Tehran Blues’ home venue – on November 3, while Tractor, 13th in the table on one point, will square off against Uzbekistan’s PFC Neftchi in Muscat, Oman, a day earlier.