Tehran - Iran’s Esteghlal defeated Buriram United of Thailand and booked a place in the AFC Champions League semifinals.
In the match held at the I-mobile Stadium in Buriram on Wednesday, Esteghlal beat Buriram 2-1 in the second leg of the quarter final, after recording a 1-0 win in the first leg in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on Aug 21, reports Xinhua.
Former Salamanca defender Osmar Barba on Wednesday gave Buriram the lead in the 38th minute. Esteghlal defender Hanif Omranzadeh equalised for his team in the 53rd minute with a header.
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Esteghlal midfielder Andranik Teymourian scored a spectacular goal in the dying moments of the match to give his team the win.
“In the dressing room at half-time I didn’t speak about technical matters, I just provided motivation,” Esteghlal coach Amir Ghalenoei said.
“We recognised some spaces on the pitch and we knew that we could score from corners. Our players played very well and they performed as I wanted,” he added.
Meanwhile, FC Seoul of South Korea defeated Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia and qualified for the semis. Esteghlal will face the Korean team Sep 25 in Seoul with the second leg in Tehran Oct 2.
