AFC - Farshid Esmaeili and Ali Ghorbani were on the scoresheet at as Esteghlal ran out 2-0 winners over Lokomotiv in Group A of the 2017 AFC Champions League on Monday.
Lokomotiv could have opened the scoring inside 20 minutes at Azadi Stadium when Sardor Mirzayev side-footed wide from a distance after a slip from goalkeeper Mehdi Rahmati, before Farshid Esmaeili did break the deadlock on 37 minutes after firing low through a crowd of players from 16 yards.
The hosts then put the result beyond doubt with six minutes remaining when Milad Zakipour played down the line for Ghorbani, who cut in from the left before curling right-footed passed the outstretched Ignatiy Nesterov in the visitors' goal to seal victory.
The result moves Esteghlal three points clear of Lokomitiv in Group A ahead of the return fixture in Tashkent in three weeks’ time.