Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tashkent: A first-half Mohammad Noori penalty was enough to give Persepolis a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Bunyodkor in Tashkent on Tuesday and maintain their 100 percent record at the top of Group A in the AFC Champions League.
The visitors took the lead midway through the first half when captain Noori converted from the spot after striker Mehdi Taremi was fouled to claim his second in two games after his side’s impressive 3-0 win against Qatari champions Lekhwiya last week.
And despite the second half being dominated by the Uzbek side, Persepolis were able to hold on to make it two wins from two while Bunyodkor now have just a solitary point from two games after their 1-1 draw with Saudi champions Al Nassr in Matchday One.
Derakhshan: Persepolis tactically out-thought Bunyodkor
Bunyodkor had the better of the opening stages but created little by way of clear-cut chances, with a speculative effort by midfielder Samir Bekric from 25 yards that went harmlessly wide the closest they came.
Persepolis had their first chance of note on the 15-minute mark, when Brazilian midfielder Fernando’s powerful left-foot drive fizzed just over from fully 35 yards.
And the visitors then went ahead in the 20th minute when Noori calmly tucked away a penalty to goalkeeper Akbar Turaev’s right after Taremi was upended by defender Artyom Filiposyan in the box.
The Uzbeks continued to have the better of the possession and should have equalised just after the half-hour mark when forward Eldor Shomurodov diverted Dostonbek Khamdamov’s cross wide from just a few yards out and it was the away side who went in at the interval with a slender 1-0 advantage.
The home side started the second period the brighter and almost equalised in the 53rd minute when substitute Vokhid Shodiev’s close-range header from a corner was fortuitously parried over via goalkeeper Sousha Makani’s head.
Just before the hour, Bunyodkor went close again when midfielder Chaker Zouaghi played a beautiful through-ball to Bekric, but his left-foot strike from eight yards was pushed wide by the Persepolis custodian.
The game was being played almost entirely in the visitors’ half but Bunyodkor could not find a way through, with a 40-yard effort from midfielder Sardor Rashidov that was easily gathered by Makani on 70 minutes showing just how desperate they were becoming.
With just two minutes left on the clock, Filiposyan’s right-foot strike from 35 yards went narrowly over and Persepolis held out to secure an impressive victory.
Photo: WSG