The draw left both in danger of missing out on the knockout stage, with Esteghlal on six points with a match remaining while Al Shorta only has three on the board.
“The draw was a fair result. We pressed more in the second half and were looking to win but were not in our regular form. We could have scored the second goal at the end of the first half, but it didn't happen,” said Bakhtiarizadeh.
“We took risks in the final minutes and made changes to put pressure and score. We had players on both wings who did what we wanted but despite these advantages, we were unable to score,” he added.
Esteghlal will meet Qatar’s Al Rayyan SC on February 18 in Doha, Qatar.