Persepolis skipper Hosseini thankful for beating Al Jazira

Tasnim – TEHRAN, Persepolis captain Jalal Hosseini thanked God for beating the UAE’s Al Jazira in the second leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16.

After a 96th-minute Al Jazira goal saw the Emirati side claim a 3-2 win in the first leg in Abu Dhabi last week, Persepolis went into the return meeting needing a win to have any chance of progressing to the quarter-final for the second successive year.

The host dominated but had to wait until just after the hour to take the lead through Ahmad Nourollahi’s stunning effort from distance, only for Brazilian Romarinho to level and silence a packed Azadi Stadium shortly after.

But Persepolis kept pushing forward and eventually got the winner its performance deserved when Hosseini, who was suspended for the first leg, fired home from 15 yards after Al Jazira had failed to clear a delivery from the left.

“It was a difficult match and we played against a very professional side,” Hosseini told the-AFC.com.

“They were a team that played on the counter-attack and had three brilliant players who were great on the ball,” he stated.

“I want to thank God that we defeated them and I also thank our fans. I hope we can keep going,” Hosseini concluded.