In Group B Saipa took on Al Quwa Al Jawiya, having defated the Iraqi side two weeks earlier in the away leg of this fixture Daei’s side were hoping to do the double over Al Quwa and extend their lead at the top of the table.  The first half ended 0-0 with both sides creating chances to score, Al Quwa displayed an improved performance compared with two weeks ago but fell into Saipa’s off-side trap numerous times.

Saipa’s persistence paid dividend when Sadeghi’s run towards Quwa’s goal forced the defender into a desperate tackle which resulted in a penalty, Kianoush Rahmati converted the kick for the Iranian side and Saipa took the lead.  Al Quwa finally managed to beat Saipa’s off-side line when Ahmed Iyad made a run from left to meet a long cross and earn himself a one-on-one position with the keeper before firing the ball home, the match ended 1-1, Daei criticised his defence after the match for losing their concentration and conceding a goal 8 minutes after taking the lead, he also blamed his team’s missed chances for dropping points.  Nevertheless Saipa on 8 points are 3 points clear of Al Quwa and Kuwait SC that are on 5 points with two matches remaining.

In Group A Sepahan seemed dead and buried only a fortnight ago having lost their first two matches, but a home win over Saudi champions Al Ittihad two weeks ago gave the Persian side a glimmer of hope.  Al Ittihad were looking to avenge their defeat of the first leg against Sepahan, Saudi media had forecasted a barrage of Ittihad goals against Sepahan!  Al Ittihad were certainly a worthy opponent and had the better of the first half, Sepahan defence held with several Saudi shots going just wide of the goal, but the best chance of the match fell to Sepahan when they hit Al Ittihad’s goal post, the first half ended 0-0.

Anything but a win would have eliminated Sepahan from the competition which explained Vieira’s decision to start the match with two strikers Seyeh Salehi and Emad Reza.  Salehi did well in this match particularly in the second half and gave Saudi’s a headache with his runs.  Ittihad pressure failed to pay dividend as numerous danger shots went narrowly wide of Sepahan goal, the breakthrough came for Sepahan late in the match when Emaz Reza met a long cross from left to put the ball past the surging Saudi keeper.  Sepahan have now defeated Saudi champions at home and away in ACL for two years running to stamp Iran’s authority over their Persian Gulf arch rivals. This match went beyond a club competition, apart from Sepahan vs. Al Ittihad this was an Iran vs. Saudi Arabia, with Sepahan coached by Jorvan Vieira and Al Ittihad coached by Gabriel Calderon this was also a Brazil vs. Argentina on the coaching side.