Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tehran: ACL Group D leaders Piroozi suffered a humiliating 4-2 home defeat against Saipa in the Iran Pro League ahead of their crucial home tie against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia on May 1.
In the match played at the Azadi Stadium on Saturday, the struggling home side went 2-0 down within first seven minutes into the match and never recovered throughout.
The Iranian President’s Cup winners tried to hit back late in the second half but it was too late for a dramatic resurgence. Youngster Karim Ansarifard scored in the 5th minute to stun the home supporters while Amin Manoochehri doubled the lead to 2-0 two minutes later to pile more pressure on the home side.
Saipa ensured no room for Piroozi come back when they went 3-0 up in the 58th minute through Majid Gholamnejad before Piroozi reduced the deficit by 3-1 when Ebrahim Shakouri scored in the 74th minute. Saipa were in no mood to let Piroozi any chance to get back into the match as they made it 4-1 in the 79th minute through Milad Gharibi making the 87th minute strike of Alireza Noormohammadi a mere consolation goal.
Piroozi lead Group D with eight points from four matches and a win against second placed Al Hilal will virtually seal a place for the last 16 of ACL 2012.