Both the Reds and the Emirati team needed the three points of the game to advance to the Round of 16 but it was the Iranian side that took the lead early in the match when defender Shoja Khalilzadeh scored the first goal 65 seconds into the game with a header.
Issa Alekasir doubled the lead in the 41st minute and Vahid Amiri scored another just before the break.
Maintaining dominance over the game, Yahya Golmhammadi’s players safeguarded the result, and substitute Mehdi Abdi scored the final goal in the added time.
With the decisive victory and thanks to Al Duhail’s 0-1 loss against Al Taawoun, Persepolis advanced to the next round as Group C leader and Al Taawoun finished as runner-up.
“We won a very important game. I am happy to advance to the next round as group leader. The important thing was to score early in the game. I hope we can continue this trend in future games,” head coach Golmohammadi said after the game.
The Iranian side will take on Xavi’s Al Sadd in the Round of 16.
In Group D of the event, Sepahan of Iran, which had already been eliminated, finished the event in style with a 2-1 win over Al Sadd of Qatar.
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