ACL Matchday Two: Iran’s Esteghlal Records Victory over Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Esteghlal football team recorded a hard-fought 1-0 victory over 2017 runner-up Al Hilal in the 2018 AFC Champions League Group D clash on Tuesday.
Esteghlal took the lead through an own goal by defender Abdullah Al Hafith after Mame Thiam’s effort on target was deflected off the defender to wrongfoot goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi just seconds after the restart.
Al Hilal’s troubles was doubled when goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi was sent off in the 67th minute after handling the ball outside his area.
Esteghlal leads the table with four points, followed by Qatar’s Al Rayyan (two points), the UAE’s Al Ain (two points) and Al Hilal (one point).
Esteghlal will travel to the UAE to face Al Ain on March 6, while Al Hilal’s Matchday Three fixture sees the team hosting Qatar’s Al Rayyan.
