Business Standard

Monday, December 23, 2024 | 08:20 AM ISTEN Hindi

Notification Icon
userprofile IconSearch

Iran's Esteghlal claim spot in Asian Champions League knockout stage

Image

IANS Tehran

Esteghlal defeated Qatar's Al Rayyan 2-0 to punch their ticket for the knockout stage of the 2018 Asian Champions League, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on its website.

The Match Day 5 contest at Tehran's Azadi Stadium here on Monday was for the top spot in Group D, reports Efe.

The hosts set the tone for the night when Server Djeparov took a cross from Farshid Esmaeili to beat Al Rayyan goalkeeper Oumar Barry in the 4th minute, making it 1-0 for Esteghlal.

Al Rayyan's best chance came in the 20th minute as the visitors moved forward in pursuit of an equaliser, but captain Rodrigo Tabata's effort from a distance missed the mark.

 

The Iranian side got their insurance goal in the 58th minute, when Vouria Ghafouri converted from the spot after the referee awarded a penalty for a foul in the box against Dariush Shojaein.

Despite the loss, Al Rayyan can still secure the second Group D berth in the AFC Champions League round of 16 with a good result two weeks from now against Al Ain.

--IANS

gau/bg

Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content

Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel

First Published: Apr 03 2018 | 12:34 PM IST

Explore News