PERSEPOLIS BREAKS DUHAIL HEARTS
Tehran, Iran - Iranian giant Persepolis broke Al Duhail's sequence of nine straight victories to storm into the semifinals of the AFC Asian Champions League with a stirring come-from-behind 3-2 aggregate win on Monday.
It will now clash with another Qatar club, Al Sadd, in the semis next month after the 2011 winner edged out Iran’s Esteghlal 5-3 on aggregate following their second-leg 2-2 draw in Doha. Al Sadd had won the first leg 3-1.
Earlier, Persepolis had staged a remarkable second half recovery in Tehran.
Trailing 0-1 after the first-leg and then conceding a 33rd minute goal it scored three goals after the break to take the second-leg 3-1.
Qatar Stars League champion Al Duhail had been relentless in its campaign, winning all its previous nine matches right from the group stage before suffering its only defeat.
Had it won, it would have set an AFC Champions League record of ten consecutive victories, overtaking Ulsan Hyundai's nine set during the 2012 season when the Korean side won the title.
Bounedjah stars for Al Sadd
Later in Doha, Baghdad Bounedjah was again the star for Al Sadd, providing an assist and scoring from a penalty late in the dying minutes of the game to help his side clinch a 2-2 draw.
Algerian Bouendjah, the top-scorer in the tournament with 12 goals so far, slipped in a pass from the right and Akram Afif lashed home from close past goalkeeper Mehdi Rehmati in the 27th minute.
The lead lasted only five minutes as Al Sadd goalkeeper Meshaal Aissa Barsham failed cleanly to stop a shot from Esteghlal’s Rouhollah Bagheri and the ball fell into the net.
The visitors went on the attack in the second half and took lead for the first time in the 49th minute when Morteza Tabrizi headed in.
Esteghlal suffered a major blow when Rouzbeh Cheshmi was sent off with his second bookable offence in the 50th minute. And it conceded a penalty in stoppage time, and Bounedjah blasted home to help Al Sadd earn a draw and progress on aggregate.