The Iranian football club Tractor Sazi played against Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in Muscat of Oman on Tuesday evening while the Iranian side lost 1-2 for both teams to reach to the Round of 16 of the 2016 AFC Champions League.
Salem Al Dawsari put Al Hilal in front in the 14th minute while Ailton scored the second goal for the Saudi team in the 72nd minute.
Aloys Nong scored a goal in the first half of the match for Tractor Sazi who finished as group winners despite the loss with the Saudis in second place.
“We played well and faced a strong challenge from Al Hilal as they wanted to win and they achieved their target,” said Tractorsazi coach Amir Ghalehnoy adding “We rested several players in order to avoid injuries as we have already secured our place in the knockout stage.”
“The defeat has several advantages as we know the mistakes we need to fix for the next matches and things will be different in the next round but we should prepare for the best teams,” highlighted the Iranian coach commenting “we will have to give our best if we want to continue in the competition.”
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