TEHRAN – Esteghlal and Al Nassr Club settled for a goalless stalemate in their AFC Champions League Elite 2024-25 Round of 16 first leg at the Azadi Stadium on Monday.
Both sides had chances but failed to finish with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr set to host Iran’s Esteghlal in the return leg on March 11.
Al Nassr were missing five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Aymeric Laporte, who scored the only goal when the sides met on Matchday Three of the League Stage.
Esteghlal head coach Miodrag Bozovic says he is content with his team’s defensive resolve against Al Nassr.
“It was a tough match for us against a team with quality players individually,” said Bozovic.
“There were moments in the match when they played better or tried to get into scoring positions. There were also moments when we played better and had scoring chances.
“I think they were better than us, but the draw was a deserved result for both teams. I think we are happy with the way the players and the fans performed. I am happy that we did not give up the result and even tried to win. When our goalkeeper is the best player on the field, there is nothing left to say,” Bozovic stated.
 Esteghlal will travel to Saudi Arabia to play Al Nassr in the second leg next week.