The Jeddah side wasted a number of opportunities at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium and looked likely to be punished when substitute Arash Borhani headed Esteghlal ahead against the run of play in the 77th minute.
But Emad Moteab levelled with three minutes remaining and Hicham Aboucherouane fired home a superb stoppage time winner to give the Saudi outfit all three points.
"My team was successful and the most important thing is that we kept the three points at home. Do not forget that my team was the better side in the match,” said the Argentinian.
"There is no need for excuses. We had several scoring chances but we were unlucky not to find the net.
"Esteghlal closed down the game and in football it is very difficult to win against a team playing with such tactics."
"I just care about the performance of my players and their passion and I am sure they will do better in their next games."
Esteghlal coach Amir Ghalenoei was less than pleased with his team’s late capitulation. The former Iran national coach showed up 10 minutes late for the post-match press conference before venting his displeasure at Japanese referee Masaaki Iemoto.
"The referee was the main reason for our defeat tonight,” he said.
“If you look back on the match you will notice that he made a big mistake when he cancelled out one of our attacks for offside after the Al Ittihad equaliser.
"I think that the decision was a mistake.”
Ghalenoei also defended his decision not to bring on striker Borhani until midway through the second half.
"Each player in my squad has a certain role in every match. When I noticed that the Al Ittihad players were getting tired, it was the proper time to bring on Borhani.”