ACL 2022 Group C: Al-Taawoun Beats 10-man Sepahan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Saudi Arabia's Al-Taawoun returned to winning ways on Thursday, defeating 10-man Sepahan of Iran 3-0 at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on Matchday Three of the AFC Champions League 2022 Group D.
Both teams came into the match off the back of 1-0 defeats, with Al-Taawoun having lost to Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor and Sepahan beaten by Al-Duhail of Qatar.
Sepahan found itself facing an uphill battle after Ezzatollah Pourghaz was shown a straight red card inside 10 minutes, having obstructed Ze Luis when he was clear on goal, leaving his side a man short for the remaining 80 minutes.
Al-Taawoun club captain Nawaf Al Subhi rose highest to head home Medran’s pinpoint delivery from a free-kick to send his side into the dressing room with an important lead in the 43rd minute.
Ze Luis found the back of the net within 45 seconds into the second half, the net for his side’s second of the night.
The game was put to bed with 13 minutes to go after a nice team move saw the ball spread to Saad Yaslam on the left wing and he powered in a cross that traveled across the mouth of goal for Yazeed Al Bakr on the opposite flank and the right-back made no mistake with the finish to make it 3-0.
The two sides will face off again on Monday, with Al-Taawoun sitting joint top of the group with Al-Duhail, while Sepahan find itself level with Pakhtakor on three points each.
