AFC Champions League Round of 16: Al Nassr, Esteghlal play out goalless first leg

AFC Champions League Round of 16: Al Nassr, Esteghlal play out goalless first leg

Esteghlal and Al Nassr played out a goalless draw in the first leg of their AFC Champions League Elite Round of 16 match at the Azadi Sports Complex on Monday.

It was a tale of two halves, as both teams had their fair share of chances but failed to convert any into a goal.

Al Nassr, without the services of Cristiano Ronaldo, dominated the first half.

Its best chance came in the 21st minute. Jhon Duran’s shot from inside the Esteghlal box was saved by its keeper, Hossein Hosseini, with the rebound falling to Ayman Yahya. The latter had an empty goal in front of him but was denied by Rouzbeh Cheshmi, who made a timely goal-line clearance.

Esteghlal’s best chance came in the 50th minute. Armin Sohrabian swung in a good cross from the left flank, which found Ramin Rezaeian inside the box. Ramin did well to head the ball across the face of the goal but saw his effort go agonisingly wide of the post.

The teams will meet for the second leg at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on March 10.