AFC - Esteghlal FC edged Qatar’s Al Gharafa SC 2-1 to secure their second win in he AFC Champions League Elite 2026/2027™ at the Thani Bin Jassim Stadium on Monday.
Ferjani Sassi’s 48th-minute goal cancelled out a stunning strike by Jasir Asani in the first half before Hossein Goudarzi’s 60th-minute winner ensured the Islamic Republic of Iran outfit finished with another three points.
Both sides took their time to settle, with Esteghlal edging possession and Saman Fallah’s off-tangent header off a corner in the 12th minute their first look at goal.
Another corner at the opposing end in the 21st minute gave the home side their chance to threaten, with Seydou Sano rising high in the box but nodding wide of the left post.
There were no shots on target in the first half hour, but Asani made sure that the Iran Pro League side’s first strike in the 37th minute mattered when he came down the right and unleashed a spectacular 20-yard shot that dipped beyond Ahmad Kone’s fingertips and into the top left.
Kone made a superb save from Saeid Saharkhizan four minutes into stoppage time while Habib Abbasi denied Al Gharafa’s first on-target attempts through Adam Ounas and Abdulrahman Faiz Al Rashidi to close the half.
The Qatar outfit’s strong start to the second half paid off three minutes in when Sassi emerged from a pack of bodies inside the Esteghlal box to side-foot past Abbasi for the equaliser.
Esteghlal, however, took advantage of slack goalkeeping by Kone in the 60th minute to regain the lead when Goudarzi was given too much space on the left and struck from range, his shot bouncing off the custodian’s palms and rolling into the bottom left.
Saharkhizan saw his shot deflect off midfielder Ayoub Aloui in front of goal in the 79th minute while Abbasi made himself big to block Alaa Hasan’s point-blank effort five minutes later and Rustamjon Ashurnatov cleared off the line from Aloui to consign Al Gharafa to their second defeat.
