AFC Champions League: FC Goa outplayed by Persepolis FC 4-0

Persepolis started the scoring through Shahriyar Moghanlou (24’) and Mehdi Torabe made it 2-0 before halftime. Issa Alekasir and Kamal Kamyabinia sealed the match for Persepolis in the second half.

Persepolis FC outplayed FC Goa 4-0 in the ACL Group E fixture; Credit: twitter/@PersepolisFC
By Sreejith C R | Apr 24, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Persepolis’ attacking intent was evident at the Fatorda stadium on Friday night as the Iranian club scored two goals in either half to thrash the debutants FC Goa 4-0 and make it four wins in as many games. The new-look Goan side was sloppy in defense, unlike the previous games. Persepolis began the scoring through Shahriyar Moghanlou (24’) and Mehdi Torabe made it 2-0 before halftime. Issa Alekasir and Kamal Kamyabinia sealed the match for Persepolis in the second half.

Mistakes at the back

FC Goa goalkeeper, Naveen Kumar’s two errors in the first half gave Persepolis two goals. Shahriyar Moghanlou’s grounded shot from just inside the box slipped through the FC Goa custodian to make it 1-0 for the last edition’s ACL runner-ups.

Few minutes before the end of half-time, Goa custodian mishandled a cross from the left flank and conceded the penalty in his desperate attempt to clear the ball. Mehdi Torabi stepped up and converted the spot-kick.

Persepolis started the second half with the same intent as they started the first half. Just two minutes after the restart Issa Alekasir’s placed a low shot to the left of Naveen Kumar to make it 3-0 after some fine build-up play from the back.

Kamal Kamayabinia made it 4-0 for Persepolis in the 58th minute. Substitute Mohamed Ali’s delay in clearing the ball from a corner kick lead to Kamayabinia pouncing on to the opportunity and seal the match for Persepolis.

FC Goa conceded three goals because of their mistakes. The Gaurs never really settled into the game. After the introduction of Jorge Ortiz and Glan Martins, Goa stitched together a few passes and started keeping the ball a bit more. Ortiz got the first real shot on target for Goa in the injury time only to be saved by the Persepolis custodian Bozidar Radosevic.

Juan Ferrando made eight changes to the starting XI from the previous game to rotate the players and freshen up a little bit as the games were coming thick and fast. But that didnot help as the new look side struggled to find the rhythm.

FC Goa are placed third in Group E with two points from four games and have two games remaining. Persepolis cemented their top position in the group with the fourth win in a row.

In another match, Al-Wahda beat Al-Rayyan 1-0. It was Al-Wahda’s second victory of the campaign. They are now placed second in Group E with seven points from four games.

FC Goa and Persepolis will next play against Al-Rayyan and Al-Wahda respectively on Monday night.





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