AFC Champions League: Persepolis end 2019 on high note [VIDEO]

Tehran Times – TEHRAN, Persepolis football team of Iran ended their 2019 AFC Champions League Group D campaign on a high as the Iranian champions defeated Qatar’s Al Sadd SC 2-0 on Monday.

Having already secured their place in the round of 16, Al Sadd needed a point to ensure they end the group stage at the top spot, while Persepolis had already been eliminated and sat bottom of the group with four points.

In the 16th minute, Mehdi Torabi collected Ahmad Noorollahi’s pass 30 yards from goal and unleashed a thunderous drive into the top corner of Saad Al Sheeb’s net to put the hosts in front.

After the restart, Al Sadd looked to take the game to their opponents in an effort to find an equalizer, and they came as close as possible in the 64th minute when the 2018 AFC Player of the Year Abdelkarim Hassan beat Alireza Beiranvand from 35 yards out, but watched his powerful effort ricochet off the bottom of the upright.

Torabi then turned provider for Persepolis in the 67th minute, breaking free down the left flank and finding Ali Alipour with a perfectly weighted pass. Alipour rode off the initial tackle of Tarek Salman before drilling a low effort through the legs of Al Sheeb to make it 2-0, the-afc.com reported.