ACL: Iran’s Persepolis Held by Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan

The visitors got off to a flyer, leaving the crowd at Azadi Stadium stunned as Marat Bikmaev tapped in from point-blank just five minutes into the match.

Last year’s finalist drew level in the 25th minute after Bashar Resan found Mario Budimir inside the box. The Croatian advanced and drilled one into the bottom corner of Sanjar Kuvvatov’s net.

Pakhtakor defended resiliently and looked to strike on the counter, but there were no clear-cut chances on either side, and the two teams went into the break level.

After the restart, Resan continued to be the biggest source of danger for the Iranian side who came close to getting its second goal of the evening in the 50th minute, but Kamal Kamyabinia’s header following the Iraqi midfielder’s corner-kick ended up on the wrong side of the post.

Substitute Siamak Nemati led a swift counter attacking move down the right flank and supplied the ball to Resan who then found Ali Alipour. The striker curled an effort the edge of the area, but Kuvvatov was quick to save.

The Iranian side piled the pressure on in an attempt to find a winner, Resan then attempted his own luck from outside the box but was denied by the Uzbek goalkeeper. Despite their best efforts, Persepolis had to settle for a point at the final whistle.

Persepolis will travel to Doha for a repeat of last year’s semi-final against Al Sadd next week, while Pakhtakor’s Matchday Two encounter will see the team host Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli.