Al Sadd and Sepahan FC players in action during their last Group D match of the AFC Champions League, played at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, yesterday. PIC: TWITTER/ @ALSADDSC
Iranian side Sepahan yesterday beat an under-strength Al Sadd 2-1 in their final group game of the 2020 AFC Champions League at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium. Reza Mirzaei’s 14th-minute goal gave Sepahan a 1-0 lead at halftime, and they went on to double their advantage in the 53rd minute through Sajad Shabazzadeh. Hashim Ali pulled a goal back for Al Sadd in the 82nd minute.
The result means that Al Sadd finishes with a tally of 9 points as runners-up of Group D, two points behind leaders Al-Nassr. Having already qualified for the Round of 16 prior to this game, Xavi made 10 changes to the line-up that started against Al Nassr on Matchday 5. The match got off to a calm start, with no real chances for either side. In the 14th minute, Sepahan went ahead through Mirzaei, who took advantage of Al Sadd’s failure to clear the ball.
He controlled the ball and got past Tarek Salman, before finishing with a low striker past Meshaal Barsham. Sepahan went on to control the game against the mostly youthful Al Sadd side, but veteran striker Rodrigo Tabata did have a chance to equalise in the 38th minute. However, his shot from just outside the box went wide and hit the side netting. Xavi made his first substitution at halftime, bringing on Abdelkarim Hassan in place of Tarek Salman. In the 53rd minute, Sepahan managed to score once again, doubling their lead through Shahbazzadeh who finished off a rebound after Meshaal Barsham had parried a shot into his path.
Al Sadd then made another change, bringing on Khoukhi Boualem in place of Mohammed Waad in the 61st minute. Tabata got a golden opportunity to score in the 73rd minute when Musaab Khidir sent in a teasing cross but his close range header was remarkably saved and held between the Sepahan keeper’s feet. Finally, a goal did come for Al Sadd, when Hashim Ali scored in the 82nd minute. Yusuf Abdurisag pounced on a weak back-pass in the Sepahan box, before squaring it for Hashim to tap into an empty net. In stoppage time, there was an opportunity to equalise but Khoukhi’s header was kept out by a Sepahan defender on the goal-line. The referee then blew his whistle to signal the end of the game as Al Sadd suffered their first defeat of the competition.
