Al-Nassr, missing key players Cristiano Ronaldo and Aymeric Laporte, were held to a 0-0 draw by Esteghlal in the first leg of their AFC Champions League Elite Round of 16 tie at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Monday. The result leaves the tie delicately balanced ahead of the second leg in Riyadh next Tuesday.
The Saudi Pro League side dominated the early proceedings. Marcelo Brozovic missed an early opportunity, shooting wide from close range after being set up by Angelo. Esteghlal responded with two chances for Mehran Ahmadi, but he failed to hit the target on both occasions.
The best chance of the first half fell to Al-Nassr in the 20th minute. Jhon Duran’s initial shot was saved by Esteghlal goalkeeper Seyed Hossein Hosseini, and Roozbeh Cheshmi produced a vital headed clearance to deny Ayman Yahya on the rebound.
Esteghlal’s Saleh Hardani tested Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento from distance, while at the other end, Hosseini made a good save to deny Duran at the near post. Al-Nassr almost broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time after a defensive mix-up, but Sadio Mane’s shot went narrowly wide.
The Iranian side began the second half with greater intensity, but Armin Sohrabian and Ramin Rezaeian both missed headed chances. Duran then had two golden opportunities to put Al-Nassr ahead. First, his attempted lob was tipped away by Hosseini; then, he hit the post from a tight angle after beating the goalkeeper.
Hosseini continued to be the busier of the two goalkeepers, making several saves in the closing stages. Esteghlal substitutes Jaloliddin Masharipov and Joel Kojo also failed to capitalize on late chances. The goalless draw means the tie is wide open heading into the second leg at Al-Awwal Park, with away goals no longer carrying extra weight in the AFC Champions League. Esteghlal in Tehran
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.