Three injuries aggravated Al Sadd’s 2-0 win over Iran’s Esteghlal while Al Rayyan’s push in Riyadh came a bit too late to get a point.

Al Sadd secured their first win in the AFC Champions League Elite after beating Iran’s Esteghlal FC 2-0, but head coach Felix Sanchez said the win “came at a cost” as three of his players limped out due to injuries.

The hosts claimed victory rather comfortably at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Monday, courtesy of an own goal from the opposition keeper late in the first half and then a second-half penalty strike from talisman Akram Afif.

Sanchez’s side, however, seemed to be in trouble early on in front of the 6,599 spectators and were forced to make a couple of changes within minutes due to injuries.

Full-back Youcef Atal pulled his hamstring in the 24th minute and was replaced by Abdullah Al-Yazidi, just two minutes after Pedro Miguel was forced to come off for Tarek Salman.

Al-Yazidi, to his dismay, had to be taken off later in the first half also due to a similar concern.

“It is good that we got the win, but we had to pay the price,” head coach Sanchez said after the match, referring to the three injuries.

“It came down to the players’ efforts tonight. They defended the lead well since [Esteghlal] continuously put the ball inside our box. It was tough, but they did it.”

Sanchez’s side took the lead in the 40th minute as opposition keeper Hossein Hosseini failed to clear Akram Afif’s corner and ended up punching the ball into his own net.

Both teams began the match aggressively, with Esteghlal registering six shots compared to Al Sadd’s two in the first half.

Although Rafa Mujica scored twice for the hosts, both goals were disallowed for offside, and he was also denied by the post in the 33rd minute.

Al Sadd doubled the lead eight minutes after the hour mark with Afif on target from the penalty spot.

The Al Sadd captain had won the penalty himself, drawing a foul after getting through on goal – a chance that he regularly enjoys burying.

Another similar chance fell on his arc just moments before the final whistle, this time without a defender coming at him, but Afif could not keep it on target to better Al Sadd’s goal difference.

“That was a confidence-boosting win,” Afif said. “It sets the tone for the matches to come, first in the league against Al Shahania and also in the national team’s next set of matches.”

With the win, Al Sadd is the first team from Qatar to register a victory at the Asian level, after drawing 1-1 away at UAE’s Al Ain on the first match day.

Al Rayyan’s push a little late in Riyadh

Al Rayyan delivered another promising performance, but were left empty-handed in the points table after a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr at Al Awwal Stadium.

Sadio Mane scored for the hosts in the first minute of added time before the break, meeting Sultan Al-Ghannam’s through ball in the six-yard box.

Cristiano Ronaldo then doubled the lead for Al Nassr, finishing in the top left corner with his weaker foot in the 76th minute.

Al Rayyan then started their push, planting balls in the Al Nassr box regularly, courtesy of a creative partnership between Mahmoud Trezeguet on one side and Achraf Bencharki on the other.

Bencharki then assisted Roger Guedes after a quick break into the opposition area in the 87th minute to pull one back for the visitors.

The lunge, however, seemed to come a little late for Younes Ali’s side to walk out with a point from Saudi as Al Nassr preserved the lead despite 13 minutes of play following the regular time.

Al Rayyan had lost to another Saudi side Al Hilal 3-1 at home and currently are winless in the AFC Champions League Elite.