ACL 2018: Esteghlal neutralise Al Rayyan to ease into round of 16 [Analysis]

AFC – TEHRAN, Esteghlal booked their place in the 2018 AFC Champions League knock-out stage with a 2-0 win over Qatar’s Al Rayyan at Azadi Stadium on Matchday Five of Group D on Monday.

Hosts Esteghlal never looked troubled by the visitors, who were restricted to half-chances by an impressive back-line. One of many long-distance shots almost reduced the deficit later on in the second half, but the post denied Al Rayyan a way back into the match.

Noorafkan leads from the back
Starlet Omid Noorafkan shone brightly at left-back against his Qatari opponents, who rarely threatened down his flank all match long.
Much is expected of the youngster, who broke into the first team aged just 18, a club record. Just days after scoring his first-ever league goal, a winner against Naft Tehran on Thursday, Noorafkan completed three dribbles and had 94 touches of the ball against opponents who had no answer to his quality. Noorafkan also demonstrated his defensive skills, winning a total of nine duels throughout the 90 minutes, as his Esteghlal side shut out Al Rayyan, earning their second clean sheet in three home games.

Al Rayyan forwards stifled
For the first time in the AFC Champions League this season, Al Rayyan failed to score a single goal over 90 minutes. Abderazak Hamdallah and Rodrigo Tabata had together contributed five of their side’s six goals in the first four group matches, and the attacking duo have also scored a combined 31 goals so far in the 2017/18 Qatari league season. Against Esteghlal, however, both players were harried by the hosts’ defence and were often forced into shooting from suboptimal positions. The result was a grand total of one shot on target from both players, and that was easily saved by goalkeeper Seyed Hossein Hosseini. Al Rayyan also struggled to penetrate into their opponents’ penalty box, as evidenced by the fact only one of the Qataris’ six shots came from inside the area.

Djeparov rolls back the years, Ebrahimi pulls the strings
Server Djeparov might be 35 years old and in the twilight of his career, but his performance against Al Rayyan proved that the all-time Uzbekistan appearance record holder still has plenty to offer. Djeparov posted a 92.5 percent pass completion rate on Monday and scored the first of Esteghlal’s two unanswered goals. His passing map (below) shows how he had no problems dropping deep to help move the ball for his side. Meanwhile, in the centre of the park, Omid Ebrahimi was busy dictating the tempo of the encounter and spraying passes to his teammates, finding them successfully on 69 occasions throughout the match. The 30-year-old also recovered possession eight times in an impressive showing.