ACL MD 4: Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli 2 – 1 Persepolis of Iran

The two teams came into the match occupying the last two places in the group, with Persepolis sitting third with four points after its 2-0 win against Al Ahli on Matchday Three left the Saudis bottom of the group with three points.

It took half an hour for the first goal of the game to arrive, and it was Al Somah who registered it for the home team.

Ghareeb skipped past two defenders and looked to round Persepolis keeper Alireza Beiranvand who brought him down inside the box, and the referee awarded a penalty which Al Somah emphatically drove home for his third goal of the campaign.

Al Somah came close to doubling his tally 10 minutes after the restart as Nooh Al Mousa’s free-kick hit the wall and fell for the Syrian who controlled and hit the ball on the half-volley, forcing Beiranvand into a reflex save at the top corner.

Beiranvand was left helpless to rescue in the 83rd minutes after Al Soma curled a free-kick from the edge of the box into the top corner to add the second goal for Al Ahli and for himself on the night.

As he did in the first match, defender Shojae Khalilzadeh showed his eye for goal, heading home Soroush Rafiei’s cross in added time. His goal this time was merely a consolation for Persepolis as the final whistle confirmed a 2-1 win for the Saudis.

Al Sadd od Qatar defeated Pakhtakor 2-1 in another match group.

Al Sadd tops Group D with this victory, which takes its tally to seven points. Meanwhile, Pakhtakor freezes at five points, slipping down to third place, with Al Ahli now moving to second with six points and Persepolis rounding the group off with four points at the bottom.