QNB Stars League leaders Al Sadd went down fighting to Iran’s Persepolis 0-1 through a late penalty by Ali Alipour in the first leg of their AFC Champions League semifinal in Doha on Tuesday.
Both sides started off cautiously and the first dangerous chance of the game came in the 16th minute. Al Sadd forward Akram Afif got into the box and had a go at goal, but Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was on hand to safely gather the ball.
Two minutes later, Persepolis wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead. After Bashar Resan gave a cross from the left, Godwin Mensha somehow skied the ball over the crossbar.
The first half then turned out to be a cagey affair with very few noteworthy attempts at either end. However, Akram remained a lively threat for Al Sadd on the left and, in the 43rd minute, his low drive at goal was kept out by a fingertip save from a diving Beiranvand.
Al Sadd looked to make a breakthrough in the second half in front of their fans, but Persepolis were determined to make it difficult for them.
The visitors managed to frustrate the Al Sadd forwards as tournament top scorer Baghdad Bounedjah was kept silent by a resolute Persepolis backline marshalled by captain Jalal Hosseini.
The stalemate was broken in the 86th minute against the run of play. After a quick counter-attack, Al Sadd goalkeeper Saad Al Dossari brought down Alipour in the box. The striker stepped up to take the penalty himself and made no mistake.
Akram had the ball in the net deep into added time, but the effort was ruled out by the referee for a foul, confirming a narrow win for Persepolis.
The return leg will be played at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on 23rd October.
Source: qsl.qa