ACL Matchday Two: Iran’s Persepolis Loses to Al Sadd of Qatar
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Baghdad Bounedjah netted a dramatic late winner to give Qatar's Al Sadd a 1-0 win over Iran's Persepolis in their Group D clash on Matchday Two of the 2019 AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
Both sides were looking for their first win of the competition, and that attacking intent resulted in end-to-end action early on. Persepolis was unlucky not to score in the ninth minute after somehow failing to tap the ball in during a goalmouth scramble.
Al Sadd's Akram Afif then saw his curling effort take a deflection and miss the goal by inches. Over at the other end, Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb produced a stunning reflex save to deny Ahmed Noorollahi.
In the 35th minute, Bounedjah had a give-and-go with Afif but failed to direct his header away from the hands of Persepolis custodian Alireza Beiranvand. Ali Alipour then stole the ball off Pedro Miguel and had a go at goal but saw his shot go wide.
At the stroke of half-time, Al Sadd had the ball in the net after Bounedjah nodded in from close range but the assistant referee ruled the effort out for offside.
The host upped the tempo as the second half kicked off, producing a flurry of chances to keep Beiranvand busy. The Iranian international came up with two excellent saves to keep out Bounedjah in the 50th and 58th minutes.
In the 78th minute, right after Al Sadd had a penalty appeal waved away, Persepolis broke away on the counter which ended in Al Sheeb keeping out Bashar Resan's shot.
In the 88th minute, Alipour could score a winner for Persepolis but missed his excellent chance.
Bounedjah struck the winner for Al Sadd in the stoppage time after nodding in Hassan's headed pass across the goalmouth.
Al Sadd will now travel to Tashkent to face Pakhtakor on Matchday Three while Persepolis will lock horns with Al Ahli in Dubai.
