TEHRAN – Persepolis coach Yahya Golmohammadi says that they deserved to defeat Qatar’s Al Sadd in the 2020 AFC Champions League Round of 16.

Sunday night, the Iranian giants edged past Al Sadd at the Education City Stadium thanks to Issa Alekasir’s late goal.

“I am very happy for the win because it was a tough match. We came here with so many problems but deservedly won the match. Al Sadd benefit from several attacking players but we could stop them with a good defensive performance,” Golmohammadi said after the match.

“I would like to dedicate the win to our fans. I also want to thank my players who made the Iranian fans proud. They played with all their might and completely dedicated themselves to the game,” he added.

 Persepolis qualified for the AFC Champions League finals in 2018, where the Reds lost to Japan’s Kashima Antlers 2-0 on aggregate.

Golmohammadi says that they have a difficult task ahead to repeat the success but will do their best to make it happen.

“We have reached quarter-finals while we were fourth in Group C. We did a great job but we are not finished yet. We know that every team in the quarters are a strong team. We will concentrate on the next match since we want to keep going our good run,” Golmohammadi stated.