AFC Champions League: Persepolis Faces Tough Task Ahead to Beat Al Jazira
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Persepolis of Iran will need to overhaul a 3-2 AFC Champions League Round of 16 first leg deficit against Al Jazira when the sides face off in the second leg at Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Monday.
Ali Alipour gave the Iranian side the lead in Abu Dhabi last week but goals from Ali Mabkhout and Romarinho swung the tie in the Emirati team’s favor.
Godwin Mensha equalized from the spot but a 96th-minute winner from Khalifa Al Hammadi means Al Jazira travels to the Islamic Republic of Iran with a one-goal lead to defend, the-AFC.com wrote.
Persepolis, who welcomes captain Jalal Hosseini back from suspension, boast a perfect record on home soil this year and, in recent history, has twice beaten Emirati opposition at Azadi Stadium, seeing off Al Wahda 4-2 in the 2017 group stage and Al Wasl 2-0 in the group stage.
The Iranian giant will face Al Jazira without Kamal Kamyabinia, who dislocated his shoulder in the first leg in Dubai.
The visiting team, meanwhile, has drawn two and lost one of its past three trips to Iran and have suffered just one loss on the road during this campaign. If it can avoid defeat on Monday, it will progress to a maiden quarter-final on the continent.
