Al Sadd Edge Persepolis For Second Consecutive Victory In ACL Elite

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Fawad Hussain | The Peninsula

Doha: Mateus Uribe's late first-half strike and goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham's heroics secured a 1-0 victory for Al Sadd over Persepolis in the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite in Doha yesterday.

Felix Sanchez's side moved to seven points after their second successive win, holding onto third place, with Al Hilal and Al Ahli Saudi FC leading the West Zone standings with nine points each.

Uribe netted the winner in the 45+2 minute, while Barsham made crucial saves, particularly in the second half, to preserve Al Sadd's narrow lead at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium.

Sanchez praised his team's determination after the hard-fought victory.

“It was a very tough match, and we played well to secure the win. Our defense was outstanding, helping us earn three crucial points,” said the Al Sadd coach.

“Despite the tight schedule, the team is working hard, and I'm pleased with the performance of my players. They remain focused.”

Persepolis coach Juan Carlos Garrido will be urging his team to improve their finishing, as they squandered several promising chances during the match. The Iranian side, with just one point, has now slipped to 10th in the standings.

"We are very disappointed. We played a good match and created many chances but did not succeed in converting them into goals," said Garrido.

Both Al Sadd and Persepolis made attempts soon after the start as they sought early control of the match. Boualem Khoukhi fired a long-range shot in the fourth minute, but it sailed high and wide.

Moments later, Omid Alishah responded by testing Barsham with a sharp attempt.

Al Sadd, controlling more possession, pressed for a breakthrough. Guilherme Torres had a powerful strike from outside the box, but Persepolis goalkeeper Alexis Guendouz made a solid save.

In the 36th minute, Lucas Joao had a golden opportunity to score, but his effort from the center of the box, following a pass from Vahid Amiri, was way off target.

Al Sadd were saved just a minute later when Barsham rushed out to deny Alishah. In the next sequence, with the goalkeeper caught out of position, Guilherme made a crucial header to clear Masoud Rigi's goal-bound shot.

Persepolis were punished for their missed opportunities when Al Sadd finally broke the stalemate. Uribe found the back of the net in a crowded box following a corner taken by Akram Afif, giving Al Sadd the lead.

Joao's low drive from outside the box was blocked by Barsham just before the hour mark as Persepolis pushed hard for an equaliser.

However, Al Sadd continued to create better chances for a second goal, piling pressure on Guendouz, who was forced to make key saves from threatening efforts by Tarek Salman and Paulo Otavio.

Midway through the second half, Persepolis began to dominate possession. Barsham made a spectacular diving save to his left, denying a powerful long-range shot from Soroush Rafiei. Alishah then came close with a strike from the edge of the box, narrowly missing the target.

The Qatari goalkeeper was again called into action, blocking Farshad Ahmadzadeh's shot, and moments later, Joao's header following a corner went just wide, sending a scare through Al Sadd's defense.

In the dying moments, Alishah's last-gasp attempt from outside the box rattled the crossbar, but Al Sadd held on to secure three crucial points in their bid to advance to the knockout stage.

Al Sadd will now take on Al Wasl in an away game in Dubai while Persepolis will host Al Gharafa in Shahr-e Qods on November 4.

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