PFDC - TEHRAN, Esteghlal suffered a surprising 1-2 home defeat to Al Jazeera of the UAE on the third matchday of Asian Champions League on Tuesday afternoon.

The game started the worst possible way for Esteghlal, when Jumaa headed the ball past Mehdi Rahmati, to put the visitors ahead.

Esteghlal struggled to equalize until minute 68, when a deflected shot from Ferydoon Zandi luckily found its way into the net.

Esetghlal now pushed for the winner, exposing the defense to counter attacks and quickly were punished.

A long ball left the whole defense chasing and a rather unnecessary run from Rahmati, who left the box but failed to stop the attack left the goal completely open. Al Jazeera's Spindler expressed his gratefulness with a goal.

Esteghlal pushed for an equalizer for the rest of the game, but Jlloyd Samuel's miss from close range finally sealed the first defeat for Esteghlal in the Champions League this season.

With four points out of three games, Parviz Mazloumi's men remain in second position, already five points behind leaders Al Jazeera, who won all of their games so far.



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