Persepolis come from behind to beat Al Rayyan

Al Rayyan's Franck Kom (left) vies for the ball with Persepolis' Omid Alishah during the group stage match of the AFC Champions League in Margao, India.

Persepolis FC flexed their credentials as favourites as they came from behind to defeat Al Rayyan SC 3-1 in Group E of the 2021 AFC Champions League in Margao, India, on Saturday. The Iran side turned on the power in the second half as they added to the 1-0 opening day win against UAE's Al Wahda FSCC while Al Rayyan were left in search of their first victory, having been held 0-0 by FC Goa on Matchday One. Persepolis raced off the blocks and wasted no time in asserting themselves, coming close to opening the scoring after just three minutes when Vahid Amiri raced down the left flank and relayed the ball to Shahriyar Moghanlou, who found himself in a one on one situation with Al Rayyan goalkeeper Fahad Younis, but the forward was flagged offside. The Iran Pro League champions continued to press with their free flowing passing but Al Rayyan were up to task with their sound defending. A lapse in concentration, however, saw Persepolis concede against the run of play in the 19th minute when Naif Al Hadhrami rose highest to head home Abdelaziz Hatim’s free-kick into the bottom right of the net. An undaunted Persepolis pushed for the equaliser but Al Rayyan goalkeeper Younis was at the top of his game, first saving Mahdi Torabi’s effort from inside the area on 24 minutes and then denying Moghanlou’s drive in the 39th minute. The Al Rayyan shotstopper showed his class just before half-time when he tipped Seyed Jalal Hosseini’s powerful header over the bar while at the other end, Yacine Brahimi’s drive from inside the area was saved by Persepolis custodian Hamed Lak.