Persepolis held to goalless draw by Lekhwiya in AFC Champions League
Iran’s Persian Gulf Pro League professional soccer club Persepolis has been left to rue the missed golden opportunity to register a three-point win over Lekhwiya of Qatar at the 2017 AFC Champions League Round of 16 after the sides ended scoreless in the first-leg.
On Tuesday, the Iranian soccer players started the first half of the game played at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium in a dominant fashion but without spectators.
Midfielder Farshad Ahmadzadeh and 24-year-old skipper Mehdi Taremi had two good chances to put the ball at the back of the net and establish a commanding lead early in the match, but failed to score.
Persepolis then retreated, giving their Qatari counterparts the leeway to press forward and threaten the hosts’ goal. Luiz Junior’s fizzing effort from distance struck the post on the 15th minute but all to no avail.
The Iranian soccer players regained the lead only a few minutes later, and provided midfielder Mohsen Mosalman an opportunity to net the opener; but he simply squandered it.
Persepolis players increased momentum after the restart, and rolled the ball towards the visitors’ post. They, however, could not produce a goal as one shot after another sailed high or wide.
With 10 minutes remaining, Persepolis was given the perfect opportunity to win it when Ali Afif nudged Taremi in the penalty area.
The home side’s forward saw his spot kick pushed away by Qasem Burhan though.
The Lekhwiya custodian then made another save, when he got down low to deny Vahid Amiri from close range with four minutes to play.
In another match of the day, Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal notched up a 2-1 win over Iranian football club Esteghlal Melli-Sanati Khuzestan Football Club, commonly known as Esteghlal Khuzestan.
Hassan Beit Saeid gave the Iranian team the lead three minutes before the halftime break.
Al Hilal then came back from going a goal behind, and Abdullah Al Dossary and Carlos Eduardo scored two goals to earn the Saudi club an advantage ahead of the second-leg.
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