ACL match vs. Al Wasl is a must-win: Branko Ivankovic

Tehran Times – TEHRAN, Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic says the match against Al Wasl of the UAE is a must-win game for them.

There is a lot of pressure on Ivankovic’s shoulders after losing 1-0 to Esteghlal in Tehran derby on Thursday.

Persepolis will host Al Wasl in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium in Group C of the AFC Champions League on Monday.

“The match against Al Wasl is more important than Tehran derby and we need to beat them. We are ready to get three points and there is no margin for error,” Ivankovic said in the pre-match news conference.

“As far as I know, we can advance to the knockout stage with nine points so we have to win our home match,” the Croat added.

Al Wasl coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena also says they want to defeat Persepolis to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage.

“We want to win the match, that’s why we are here. Al Wasl have lost their first two matches but we just want a win against Persepolis,” Arruabarrena said.

“We have several young players in our team that can build our future. We are going to show a good performance against Persepolis,” he added.

Al Sadd sit top of Group C with six points, followed by Persepolis and Nasf with three points.

Al Wasl are propping up the standings.