Reaching ACL Final Is An Achievement: Bashar Resan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iranian Persepolis football team's midfielder Bashar Resan believes that their 2018 AFC Champions League campaign can still be considered a success, despite falling at the final hurdle on Saturday night.
A tough night in Tehran saw Iran's Persepolis fail to breach the backline of Japanese side Kashima Antlers, as a goalless draw was enough to see the AFC Champions League title lifted by a J. League side for a second year running.
"In football, things go in your favor at times and sometimes they don't," the 21-year-old, who last year won the AFC Cup with Iraqi side Air Force Club, told the-afc.com.
"In the second half in Japan, we committed some slight mistakes which led to their goals. In Tehran, we had many chances but we didn't use them. Reaching the final itself is an achievement for us," Resan stated.
"While I'd like to congratulate Kashima but I don't think they were as good as Al Sadd or Al Duhail," he added.
"They just exploited our mistakes in the first leg and scored twice, making it difficult for us to come back into the game in front of our fans."
"Once again, congratulations to Kashima, and commiserations to our fans; I am sad we weren't able to make them happy. But, sometimes, this is how football is," Resan said.