AFC Champions League: Al-Sadd reach semifinals after 2-2 draw with Esteghlal

Al-Sadd qualified for the semifinals of the AFC Champions League, despite a 2-2 draw with Esteghlal in the quarterfinal second leg clash which was played on Monday at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium.

Akram Afif opened the scoring in the 27th minute before Esteghlal overturned the result with two goals through Rouhullah Bagheri and Morteza Tabrizi in the 33rd and 48th minute respectively. In the second minute of added time, Baghdad Bounedjah converted a penalty to give Al-Sadd a 5-3 aggregate win. Esteghlal ended the game with ten men after Rouzbeh Cheshmi was sent off in the 50th minute.

The match got off to an exciting start with both teams looking to make their mark early on. After a number of chances at either end, Afif finally broke the deadlock in the 27th minute. Picking up a pass from Bounedjah, he took a step before finishing past Mehdi Rahmati in the Esteghlal goal.

Esteghlal equalised six minutes later, when Al Sadd goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham failed to properly keep out Rouhollah Bagheri’s shot and the ball deflected in off his gloves.

The teams went into the tunnel with the score 1-1, but Esteghlal soon made it 2-1. In the 49th minute, Tabrizi headed in following a corner to come within a goal of Al Sadd on aggregate. Just a minute later, they were reduced to ten men after defender Cheshmi was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Afif was then denied a second goal by the post in the 55th minute, before the game decreased in intensity. Al Sadd maintained their control over proceedings and prevented Esteghlal from scoring further.

Bounedjah could have scored in the 74th minute but the Algerian’s fierce strike flew just wide of the post. Both teams had chances to score going into the final few minutes but it was Al Sadd who finally made it count. In added time, they were awarded a penalty after Afif was brought down by Rahmati in the box. Bounedjah stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, to level the scores on the night and confirm Al-Sadd’s progression to the last four.

MATCH DETAILS

Al-Sadd x Esteghlal (AFC Champions League quarterfinal second leg)

Venue:

Jassim bin Hamad Stadium

Lineups:

Al-Sadd: Meshaal Barsham, Pedro Miguel, Khoukhi Boualem, Hamid Ismail, Abdelkarim Hassan (Yasir Abubakar), Xavi, Gabi, Jung Woo-young, Hassan Al-Haydos, Akram Afif, Baghdad Bounedjah

Esteghlal: Mehdi Rahmati, Khosro Heydari, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Milad Zakipour, Pejman Montazeri, Ali Karimi, Humam Tareq, Farshid Esmaeili, Morteza Tabrizi, Rouhollah Bagheri, Mehdi Ghayedi

Result:

2-2 (Al-Sadd won 5-3 on aggregate)

Goals:

Akram Afif 27′

Rouhullah Bagheri 3′

Morteza Tabrizi 48′

Baghdad Bounedjah 90+2′ (penalty)

Bookings:

Rouzbeh Cheshmi 22′, 50′ (Red card)

Yasser Aboubaker 80′

Farshid Esmaeili 86′

Mehdi Rahmati 90+1′