AFC - Rodrigo Tabata bagged a brace and set up another as Al Rayyan moved to the top of Group D in the 2017 AFC Champions League following a 3-1 victory over Persepolis at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium on Tuesday.
Mehdi Taremi opened the scoring for Persepolis on six minutes with his third goal in two games after being played in by a delightful Mohsen Mosalman pass, only for the hosts to level after 19 minutes when Tabata found space for himself in the box and fired low into the back of the net for his second of the continental campaign.
And the same player then put his side 2-1 up as the hour approached by confidently dispatching from the spot after Jalal Hosseini upended Sebastian Soria in the box, before the Al Rayyan captain then delivered a pinpoint free-kick for Sergio Garcia to volley home a third two minutes from time.
The win sees Al Rayyan leapfrog their opponents and Al Hilal to the top of the standings after the Saudi Arabian side drew 2-2 with Al Wahda in Tuesday’s other Group D encounter.