AFC Champions League; Sepahan Dominates to Top the Group

Sepahan Isfahan, Iran's representative in the AFC Champions League, defeated their strong opponent Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia with a score of 3 to 2, securing 7 points and leading Group D. According to the Student News Agency of Iran (ISNA), the first half of the match between Sepahan and Al-Ittihad, held this afternoon at the Naghsh-e Jahan Stadium in Isfahan and officiated by Mohammad Kousa, ended in a 0-0 draw. In this half, the Sepahan team consisted of Kamal Soskho, Moharram Navidkia, Jaba Mojiri, Saeed Bayat, Saeed Ramazani, Rasoul Khatibi, Mahmoud Karimi, Shahin Khayri, Asghar Taleb Nasab, Mohammad Reza Mahdavi, and Reza Hassan Zadeh. With the start of the second half, both teams displayed a different face, but Sepahan dominated possession and play. The goals for Sepahan were scored by Mahmoud Karimi in the 47th and 65th minutes, with beautiful assists from Navidkia and Rasoul Khatibi in the 55th minute. The two goals for Al-Ittihad were scored by Mohammad Haidar in the 51st minute and Wira Andre in the 84th minute. Notably, Saeed Bayat and Shahin Khayri from Sepahan and two players from Al-Ittihad named Hamad Al-Montashri and Wira Andre (a Brazilian player) received yellow cards from the referee. Sepahan had previously won their last two matches.