In the match held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City, Al Ahli forward Mazen Abu Sharah was brought down by Esteghlal goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini in the area and Salman Muwashar converted the penalty with a right footed shot to the bottom right corner in the 17th minute.
Five minutes later, Esteghlal striker Amir Arsalan Motahari equalized the match.
Muwashar was on target once again in the 29th minute after receiving the ball from Abdulrahman Ghareeb.
Esteghlal could have equalized the match in the 41st minute but Vouria Ghafouri failed to score his penalty.
Esteghlal were dominant in the second half but their strikers lacked a cutting edge in attack.
In another match held earlier on the same day, Iran’s Shahr Khodro lost to Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan 3-0 in 2020 AFC Champions League Group A.
Shahr Khodro came into their second-ever AFC Champions League game dreaming of collecting their first point or scoring their first goal in the group stage, but at the end of the 90 minutes, they would have neither as the home side added another three points to their haul after having opened their campaign with a 2-1 win over Shabab Al Ahli Dubai last week.
The home crowd at Pakhtakor Stadium had barely finished celebrating the opener when their side delivered again.
MNA/TT