Persepolis FC vs Al Nassr: Al Nassr on Tuesday started their AFC Champions League campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Persepolis FC. With the win, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. went on top of Group E.
Al Nassr started the game brightly, creating quite a few chances for themselves against their Iranian opponents. The hosts Persepolis were dealt a blow when midfielder Mehdi Torabi had to be substituted in the 8th minute after sustaining an injury. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a wonderful opportunity to open his AFC Champions League account in the first half when he was set up for a free header. CR7 headed the ball straight to the Persepolis goalkeeper as the first half ended with both sides unable to break the deadlock.
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Al Nassr went into the offensive right from the start of second half and their efforts soon started bearing fruit. Persepolis defender Milad Sarlak was shown a second yellow card for a tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo from behind just seven minutes into the second half. Persepolis never recovered from the setback, conceding just 10 minutes later. Abdulrahman Ghareeb scored from inside the box from an assist from Marcelo Brozovic.
The visitors increased their intensity in their bid to secure the game. That moment came in the 72nd minute when Mohammed Qasem scored a wonderful goal from a volley after running down the left.
In the end, the visitors won the game comfortably, taking three points back to Saudi Arabia.
Persepolis FC vs Al Nassr XI
Persepolis FC XI – Sarlak; Nemati, Amiri, Beiranvand, Rigi; Sadeghi, Pouraliganji, Omri, Kanaanizadegan; Esmaeillifar, Torabi
Al Nassr XI – Al-Aqidi; Al Ghannam, Al-Fatil, Laporte, Konan; Al Khaibari, Brozovic; Ghareeb, Otavio, Mane; Ronaldo
