Persepolis’ Ali Alipour (right) celebrates with team-mate Goodwin Mensha after scoring during the AFC Champions League semi-final first leg against Al Sadd at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, yesterday.
Doha: Iran’s Persepolis took early advantage in the 2018 AFC Champions League semi-final, securing a 1-0 victory over Qatar’s Al Sadd in the first leg at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, yesterday.
A late penalty helped the visitors clinched the crucial away victory while Xavi-led Al Sadd now face an uphill task in the return leg on October 23 in Tehran.
Ali Alipour scored the all-important goal of the high octane match between the two top Asian clubs.
The game got off to a cautious start from both sides and it took until the 16th minute for the first dangerous chance of the game. Al Sadd forward Akram Afif got into the box and had a go at goal but Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was on hand to safely gather the ball.
Two minutes later, Persepolis wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead. After Bashar Resan crossed the ball in from the left, Godwin Mensha somehow skied the ball over the crossbar.
The first half then turned out to be a cagey affair with very few noteworthy attempts at either end. However, Afif remained a lively threat for Al Sadd on the left and in the 43rd minute, his low drive at goal was kept out by a fingertip save from the diving Beiranvand.
In the second half, Al Sadd came out of the tunnel looking to finally open the scoring in front of their fans but Persepolis were determined to make it difficult for them. The visitors managed to frustrate the Al Sadd forwards, with tournament top scorer Baghdad Bounedjah kept silent by a resolute backline marshalled by captain Jalal Hosseini.
The status quo remained as it was until the 86th minute, when Persepolis finally broke the deadlock against the run of play. After a quick counter attack, Al Sadd custodian Saad Al Sheeb brought down Alipour in the box. The striker stepped up to take the penalty himself and made no mistake.
Afif had the ball in the net deep into added time but the effort was ruled out by the referee for a foul, confirming a narrow win for Persepolis.
