Iran’s Persepolis Seals ACL Semis Berth for Second Successive Year

The Iran giant came from a goal behind to earn a 3-1 win over Al Duhail of Qatar at the Azadi Stadium, sealing a 3-2 aggregate win for the Islamic Republic of Iran side.

Al Duhail took the lead in the 33rd minute after Persepolis defender Shojae Khalilzadeh’s attempted clearance of Murad Naji’s free-kick bounced off Karim Boudiaf and into the back of the net to give the Qataris a crucial away goal.

Bashar Resan nearly equalized for the host in the 56th minute after snatching the ball from the Al Duhail defenders and advancing on goal, but his effort from the edge of the box was tipped behind by goalkeeper Amine Lecomte.

The resulting corner kick brought Persepolis its first goal of the quarter-final after the cross skimmed the heads of strikers Godwin Mensha and Ali Alipour before ending up at the feet of skipper Jalal Hosseini, who converted on the half-volley to bring his side back from the dead in the 57th minute.

The crowd at Azadi Stadium erupted as Persepolis took the lead for the first time in the tie 15 minutes from time.

Alipour broke free on the left leaving his marker Naji chasing shadows before squaring into the six yard box. Struggling under Resan’s pressure, Sultan Al Brake tried a last-ditch clearance but instead sent the ball into his own net.

With the momentum now on its side, Persepolis didn’t wait long to add a third. Mensha latched onto a long ball from Alireza Beiranvand outmuscled two Al Duhail defenders before rounding the goalkeeper and applying a simple finish into the empty net to settle the tie.

Persepolis will play Al Sadd of Qatar in semi-final.