Persepolis comeback stuns Al Wahda in AFC Champions League

Iran’s Persian Gulf Pro League professional soccer club Persepolis has chalked up a last-gasp win against Al Wahda of the United Arab Emirates in the group stage of the 2017 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.

On Monday, the Iranian soccer players succeeded to edge past the hosts 3-2 in a Group D fixture at the multi-purpose Al Nahyan Stadium in the Emirati capital city of Abu Dhabi.

Al Wahda soccer players opened the match with vim and vigor, and approached their opponents' goal on a number of occasions.

Chilean midfielder Jorge Valdivia, 33, took a strike but Persepolis goalkeeper Alireza Biranvand pulled off a save and dashed the hosts’ hopes to tack the opener in the initial stage of the game.

The visitors mounted a fine counter-attack shortly afterward, and rolled the ball forward just across the goal to teammate Vahid Amiri. The 28-year-old then took advantage of the ideal opportunity to put Persepolis on the scoreboard in the fourth minute.

After that, Al Wahda’s Hungarian midfielder Balázs Dzsudzsák unleashed a powerful shot directly at Persepolis' goal, which Biranvand managed to collect.

The hosts did not give up and built up pressure on the visitors’ goal in the hope of drawing level. They even forced two corners but to no avail. 

 In the 13th minute, Al Wahda midfielder Tareq al-Khaddeim committed a foul on Sadegh Moharrami before Taremi sent the ball over the bar and off the pitch.

Al Wahda players were really close to scoring the equalizer six minutes later. However, Dzsudzsák’s shot hit the crossbar, and Moharrami hacked the ball away.

It was in the 24th minute that Amiri created a wonderful chance for Taremi to double Persepolis' lead, but the latter simply turned it down.

Only two minutes later, Taremi found himself one on one with Al Wahda goalie Rashed Ali before the hosts’ defender Hamdan al-Kamali ran and tackled to spoil the Iranian player’s chance.

Argentine forward Sebastián Tagliabué then struck a shot in the 30th minute, which did not hit the target and went out.

Amiri and Taremi had goal scoring opportunities as the clock ticked toward the end of the first period, but both were carelessly squandered. Persepolis held a 1-0 lead at the break.

After the interval, Al Wahda players tried hard to level the match. Their efforts finally paid off in the 58th minute, when forward Ismail Matar found the back of Persepolis' net.

Taremi, having lost multiple opportunities to increase Persepolis' lead, passed up another in the 61st minute.

Valdívia doubled Al Wahda’s lead in the 64th minute. The hosts’ celebration did not last long as the visitors put them under pressure to reduce the deficit. Taremi made the match to two-all in the 80th minute.

In the dying moments of the match, the 24-year-old converted a shot and snatched a glorious 3-2 victory for Persepolis.

In another match of the day, Iranian football club Zob Ahan Isfahan sustained a 1-2 Group C defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabian professional football club Al Ahli at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in the Omani capital city of Muscat.

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