ACL: Sepahan ends campaign in style [VIDEO]

Tehran Times – DOHA, Sepahan football club ended their 2020 AFC Champions League on a high after defeating Al Sadd of Qatar 2-1 in Group D on Thursday.

Sepahan had already been eliminated, having collected just four points from their previous five games, while Al Sadd had booked their place in the Round of 16 with a game to spare.

Al Sadd coach Xavi made 10 changes to his starting XI that played out a 1-1 draw against Al Nassr three days earlier, with only center-back Tarek Salman retaining his place in the team, before being swapped for Abdelkarim Hassan at half time.

Reza Mirzaei dribbled past Salman before firing with his left into the bottom corner to open the scoring in the 14th minute.

Sajjad Shahbazzadeh extended Sepahan’s lead in the 53rd minute and eight minutes before the final whistle, Hashim Ali made it 2-1.

The result means Al Sadd finish in second place of Group D with nine points and will face the Group C winners in the Round of 16.

Sepahan end their campaign in third place with seven points.