Iran`s Esteghlal advances in AFC Champions League

TEHRAN,Feb.19(MNA) – Esteghlal eased past Al-Ettifaq of Saudi Arabia in an AFC Champions League playoff match on Saturday. The Iranian team defeated Al-Ettifaq 3-1 at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium in front of about 60,000 spectators. Esteghlal’s Serbian striker Goran Jerkovic opened the scoring in the 37th minute, but Yousef al-Salem silenced the stadium with an equalizer on the hour mark. However, two minutes later, Khosro Heydari gave Esteghlal the lead once again and Arash Borhani made it 3-1 in the 65th minute. Esteghlal joins Qatar's Al Rayyan, Uzbekistan's Nasaf, and the UAE's Al Jazira in Group A of the ACL Champions League group stage.