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| - Iran's Persepolis have one foot in the knockout phase of the Asian Champions League after beating FC Goa 2-1 for their third straight victory in Group E on Tuesday. Runners-up in 2018 and 2020, the Iranian giants were however tested by the Goans who went a goal up early with Spaniard Eduardo Bedia heading in a Brandon Fernandes free-kick in the 14th minute at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, India. Persepolis, who earlier had beaten Al Wahda of Saudi Arabia and Qatar's Al Rayyan, hit back four minutes later through a neat Mahdi Torabi penalty after Isa Alkasir was brought down inside the box. Torabi turned provider in the 24th minute with his cross from the left flank finding captain Seyed Hossaini who made no mistake with his header past Goa goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh. Singh once again was the hero for Goa, making several saves in the second half to frustrate the Iranians Also in Group E, Qatar's Al Rayyan were left ruing a golden chance to grab their first win when they wasted a two-goal cushion to crash to a 3-2 defeat against the UAE's Al Wahda. Veteran Fares Juma headed in the winner with the last touch of the Group E game in the fifth minute of added time as Henk ten Cate's side completed a remarkable comeback in Margao. Al Rayyan had gone ahead in the 13th minute through Shoja Khalilzadeh with Abdulaziz Hatem consolidating in the 54th minute to have Al Wahda under considerable pressure. But goals by Manea Aydh, Khalil Ibrahim and Juma in a span of 24 minutes turned the tide as Al Wahda grabbed their first win to go second behind Persepolis in the standings. Elsewhere Qatar's Al Sadd scored three first-half goals to beat Jordan's Al Wehdat 3-1 for their first win three matches in Group D and revive their hopes of qualifying for the last 16 phase. A charged up Al Sadd were a goal ahead as early as in the second minute with Algerian Baghdad Bounedjah finding the net with an easy shot off a Guilherme Torres flick from a corner taken by Santi Cazorla at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Al Wehdat had barely recovered from the early setback when Boualem Khoukhi, another Algerian in Al Sadd's ranks, headed in a Cazorla corner past the hapless Al Wehdat goalkeeper Ahmad Nawwas. Cazorla himself hit the woodwork later, but Al Sadd grabbed their third goal soon after with Qatar captain Hassan al-Haydos slamming home off a deflection in the 26th minute. Ahmad Sameer pulled one back for debutants Al Wehdat in the 63rd minute with a penalty kick after Abdou N'Diaye was fouled by Tarek Salman. Also in Group D, Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr and Iran's Foolad Khouzestan featured in a goalless draw in Riyadh. Meanwhile action in Group B saw the UAE's Sharjah FC score twice in each half to coast to a comfortable 4-1 win over Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor. Khaled Bawazir opened the account for Sharjah at the home ground in the 10th minute and although Dragan Ceran equalized in the 21st, Salem Salah made it 2-1 five minutes later. Brazilians Ciao and Luanzinho completed the formalities early in the second half as Sharjah consolidated their position at the top of the group with seven points from three matches. str/dmc/nr
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