A brace from Saeid Sadeghi helped the Iranian side to their second straight win in Group E, giving them six points at the halfway point of the group stage.
In the opening minutes, Istiklol was awarded a penalty via VAR when Dzenis Beganovic was kicked from behind by Masoud Rigi inside the box. However, Senin Sebai’s penalty was brilliantly saved by captain Alireza Beiranvand, who dived low to his right to push the ball clear.
The penalty was a wake-up call for the hosts who soon took control of the game. Shahab Zahedi was dropping deep in order to switch the play down the channels as Persepolis probed for an opener.
On the brink of halftime, Sadeghi found the back of the net and he scored again in the 71st minute.
Next up in Group E, Persepolis will head to Tajikistan to face Istiklol in the reverse meeting on Nov.7.
AMK/TT
