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The\u00a0inaugural event being held at the Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum stadium, and featuring six teams from across the Middle East and Europe, kicked off earlier today when Saudi champions Al Hilal upset the apple cart with a 3-1 win over Champiosn League participants Shakhtar Donetsk. <\/p>\n
And Perspolis picked up the baton from their near neighbours by securing an impressive win over Sparta\u00a0to\u00a0prove that football is alive and kicking in the region. The games are maybe being\u00a0treated as largely fitness exercises\u00a0with both Shakhtar and Sparta looking to fine tune their preparations ahead of the resumption of their respective leagues after a winter break, but nothing should be taken away from Piroozi. <\/p>\n
They were excellent from start to finish. Managed by Iranian legend Ali Daei, who enjoyed a stellar playing career that saw him turn out for Hertha Berlin and Bayern Munich amongst others, Perspolis were well worth their win. Adopting a\u00a0high pressing game as they looked to take advantage of the fact Sparta only arrived in Dubai 24 hours beforehand, Perspolis did have to rely on a good bit of fortune for all three of their goals. <\/p>\n
Their opener came from a contentious penalty kick midway through the first half\u00a0which striker Maziar Zare duly tucked home not once, but twice after the referee made him retake it because of an encroachment in the area. That was the way the score stayed at the break as Sparta, who left their much hyped young striker Vaclav Kadlec on the bench,\u00a0failed to gain a foothold in the match as they were overwhelmed by the work rate and intensity of the closing down by their opponents. <\/p>\n
But football can be a cruel game and\u00a0if you don’t take your chances when you’re on top it does have a nasty habit of biting back, which is exactly what happened moments after the restart as Sparta restored parity in calamitous circumstances. <\/p>\n
Perspolis goalkeeper Rahman Ahmadi inexplicabily charged out of his\u00a0area after a long ball had released\u00a0youngster Lukas Tresnak, but having just beat the Sparta striker to the ball he inadvertently headed it against his opponent and into the dormant net. <\/p>\n
Taxi for Ahmadi. Daei had spoken in the pre-match press conference of being\u00a0excited at the chance\u00a0to compare his sides’ strengths and weaknesses against more established outfits from other climes, and on this evidence he may consider a change of custodian. Sparta weren’t on level terms for long however, as Perspolis left-back Ebrahim Shakori restored their advantage with a speculative 30-yard strike that took a wicked deflection before bypassing a static Sparta keeper Daniel Zitka and nestling in the far corner. <\/p>\n
And just five minutes later Perspolis had their third – Hadi Norouzi pouncing on a shocking back pass to round Zitka and roll the ball into an empty net from an acute angle. Sparta refused to lie down though and set up a grandstand finish with 20 minutes to go. <\/p>\n
Cameroonian hitman Leonard Kweuke thundered home a header from six yards out after a spot of pin ball in the Perspolis box had eventually found\u00a0its way to the powerful striker and he made no mistake.<\/p><\/div>\n