TEHRAN – Persepolis coach Yahya Golmohammadi says that they need to beat Sharjah to keep their hopes alive at the 2020 AFC Champions League.

Persepolis started the campaign with a 2-0 defeat against Al Duhail of Qatar in Group C last week while the Emirati football team also lost to Saudi Arabia’s Al Taawoun 1-0.

Despite dominating the Iran Pro League since 2017 with three consecutive titles, Persepolis’ impressive run of back-to-back AFC Champions League semi-finals in 2017 and 2018 gave way to a group-stage exit in the 2019 edition.

“Both teams will come for a win since they have lost their opening matches,” Golmohammadi said. “Our players have shown that they can get themselves back on track in the hard situations.”

“The match against Sharjah is like a final and we also know that how strong they are. We hope the fans enjoy the match,” he added.

“I hope we win the match because Persepolis need three points to stay on course. It’s our second away match and it makes situation difficult for us. Under normal condition, Sharjah had to come to Tehran to play Persepolis ahead of our fans but we are here because the AFC has decided to change the match schedule,” Golmohammadi stated.

The Persepolis coach also praised Sharjah players Caio Lucas and Ryan Mendes.

“Lucas and Mendes are dangerous players and we have to be careful. Our players should not give them space because they can create opportunities,” he concluded.

The match will be held at the Sharjah Stadium in Sharjah on Tuesday.