Isa al-Kasir’s second half braced at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium secured the win but Iraqi midfielder Resan said it was the good work at the back which powered Persepolis to victory.
“We have great defensive strength and this helped us reach the semi-final,” said Resan. “It is not easy for our opponents to score against us.
“In the six matches that we have played in Qatar, we only conceded one goal and it was from a penalty. This shows that our system has worked well.” Resan admitted that Pakhtakor had made it very difficult for his side despite the Uzbekistan outfit being reduced to 10 men following Jaloliddin Masharipov’s sending off in the 15th minute.
“It was a difficult match against an organised side,” he said. “Pakhtakor were affected by the red card, especially that it happened so early in the match. That definitely helped us.
“We took advantage of this and scored two goals early in the second period. In general it was a good match from the team but we were tired as we put in a lot of effort in the (Round of 16) match against Al Sadd.”
Up next are Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr in today’s semi-final and Resan said Persepolis will be ready as they target a second AFC Champions League final appearance in three years, having finished runners-up to Kashima Antlers of Japan in 2018.
“We played six matches in Qatar and all were decisive,” said Resan. “We must forget this match and start preparing for Al Nassr with an aim of reaching the final.
“Our technical staff have watched Al Nassr and they have analysed their weaknesses and strengths. We will prepare to give our best on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Pity Martinez believes Al Nassr produced a perfect performance in their 2-0 win against Al Ahli Saudi FC in the quarter-finals of the 2020 AFC Champions League on Wednesday.
The Argentinian forward gave Al Nassr the lead after only 13 minutes before Abdulfattah Asiri added the second goal 10 minutes into the second half at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium to steer the Saudi Pro League side into the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time in their history.
“We are very pleased with this win as it was a difficult match,” said the 27-year-old Martinez. “We scored twice and could have scored more but the most important thing for us is that we qualified.
“We had a perfect match. This is a clear indication that if we prepare well, then we will be able to perform well.”
Despite reaching the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League for the first time and scoring his first goal in Al Nassr colours, Martinez refused to bask in glory as he set his sights on Saturday’s semi-final.
“The match against Al Ahli is over and we must start thinking of the next match in order to reach the final,” he said, with Islamic Republic of Iran’s Persepolis FC standing in the way of Al Nassr and a place in the AFC Champions League final for the first time.
Midfielder Abdulmajeed al-Sulaiheem agreed that Al Nassr should not be satisfied in having reached the semi-finals.
“We haven’t done anything yet as our target is to reach the final and we have an important match next Saturday,” said the 26-year-old. “Hopefully we can score another win and qualify for the final.”
Meanwhile, Al Ahli Saudi FC midfielder Ali al-Asmari believed his team’s mistakes helped Al Nassr score their win.
“Matches in the knockout stage are won by the slightest differences and minor details,” said al-Asmari. “Al Nassr took advantage of our mistakes tonight in order to win as they were better positioned on the pitch.
“We hope to make a good comeback in the competition next year as we will try our best to fix the mistakes that we made in this year’s competition.”
