Al Nassr edge past Esteghlal as Al Wasl rally to beat Al Gharafa

Aymeric Laporte’s late header earned Al Nassr a 1-0 win over Esteghlal in Dubai on Tuesday as the Saudi Pro League side continued their unbeaten start to the league phase of the AFC Champions League.

The Spain international nodded in from close range with nine minutes remaining to break the stubborn resistance of the side from the Iran and allow Stefano Piloi’s side to move onto seven points from their first three games.

That keeps Al Nassr two points adrift of domestic rivals Al Hilal and Al Ahli in the western region while Esteghlal remain on three points, six behind the leaders with five matches remaining.

In a tense opening it took until the 18th minute for either side to have a sight of goal, Nawaf Bu Washl warming the hands of Seyed Hossein Hosseini with a low shot after the defender had burst forward to receive a return pass inside the penalty area from Sadio Mane.

Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck from distance soon after, the Portuguese dropping deep to fizz a low shot across the face of the Esteghlal goal in a warning to the Iranian side.

Esteghlal were keeping the Saudi side at bay, limiting their opponents to long range strikes like Otavio’s effort, which found the arms of Hosseini via a deflection off the defence.

As the half wore on, the Iranians started to find the space to create opportunities. Jaloliddin Masharipov took aim from more than 30 yards only to thump his shot over Bento’s goal while Mehrdad Mohammadi was denied by the experienced defending of Laporte.

Hosseini had to take evasive action late in the first half, throwing himself at the feet of a rampaging Angelo Gabriel as the midfielder attempted to latch onto Ronaldo’s clever backheel into the Brazilian’s path.

Both sides continued to struggle to carve out clear-cut openings after the interval, although Hosseini did manage to tip Anderson Talisca’s long-range strike to safety with the slightest of touches with 19 minutes remaining.

Alireza Kooshki should have done better moments later when he was played in on the Al Nassr goal by substitute Gale Kakuta but his hesitancy ensured Bento had an easy save to make. Hosseini denied Ronaldo at the other end as the tempo started to increase.

Laporte’s 80th minute header was cleared off the line by Raphael Silva and Talisca was denied seconds later by Hosseini as the Iranians clung on, but the deadlock was finally broken when the former Manchester City defender struck seconds later.

Ronaldo’s goal-ward header from Miroslav Brozovic’s corner was pushed high into the air by Hosseini, and Laporte rose to steer the rebound home.

Al Nassr almost added a second in the 88th minute but substitute Wesley hit the post as the Saudi side ended the game on a high.

Al Wasl pip Al Gharafa: UAE’s Al Wasl FC came from behind to defeat Al Gharafa SC of Qatar 2-1.

The sensational win took Al Wasl to six points as they stayed on track for a place in the knockout stage while Al Gharafa stayed rooted on three.

Al Wasl fared better in the opening exchanges, Siaka Sidibe with a long range drive that Sergio Rico had to deal with, with the Malian midfielder then producing a delicate chip for Ali Saleh who nodded it wide.

Al Gharafa were limited to shots from distance through attempts from Fabricio Diaz and Jose, with neither troubling Al Wasl goalkeeper Khaled Alsenani.

With 10 minutes left to play in the first half, Joselu found space just inside the Al Wasl box but just when the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League winner was about to pull the trigger, Salem Alazizi slid in to make a crucial block.

Building on that, Al Gharafa opened the scoring in the 44th minute when a short corner saw Florinel Coman drilling in a cross that hit Haris Seferovic and bounced kindly for Ferjani Sassi to guide home past Alsenani.

Al Wasl had a good chance to equalise nine minutes into the second half after Nicolas Gimenez surged on the left before finding Fabio Lima in the box, only for the UAE international to send his header wide.

Next to go close were Al Gharafa - Coman embarked on a mazy run before cutting the ball back to Joselu, only for the Spaniard to send his shot into the wrong side of the post before Sassi headed wide from close range.

Al Wasl were given a lifeline in the 84th minute when Abdallah Yousif was penalised for using his hand to block Lima’s shot, with the latter stepping to convert the spot-kick.

The turnaround for Al Wasl was completed two minutes into added time when Alexis Fontanilla’s cross from the left was turned in by Isaac Success for the winner.