Sardar Azmoun celebrates with teammates after scoring Iran's fourth goal against Palestine. AFP
Doha, Qatar: Title contenders Iran started their Asian Cup campaign with a crushing 4-1 victory over Palestine in their opening Group C match at Education City Stadium last night.
Karim Ansarifard gave the three-time champions a dream start to the continental showpiece in front of over 27,691 spectators, striking shortly after a minute of silence paid tribute to precious lives being lost in Gaza.
The forward scored the second-minute goal from the left side of the box to the bottom right corner after an assist by Saman Ghoddos as Team Melli made its intention clear right from the beginning.
Amir Ghalenoei’s side looked in fine touch and could have added their second goal inside the first 10 minutes but Mehdi Ghayedi’s attempt went wide. They soon doubled their lead with Shoja Khalilzadeh scoring from a close range after a cross off a free kick from Ghoddos in the 12th minute.
There was no let-up for Palestine, who are yet to win an Asian Cup match in their third appearance, as Iran continued their hunt for more goals with an aggressive display.
Assisted by Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mehdi Ghayedi made it 3-0 for them in 38th minute finding the target with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box.
Tamer Seyam finally gave moments of joy to the Palestine supporters, who burst into celebrations after he headed the ball into the bottom left corner from a close range following a free kick in injury time of the first half.
Coach Ghalenoei made two substitutions after the break with Sardar Azmoun and Mohammad Mohebi replacing goal-scorers Ansarifard and Ghayedi.
Azmoun quickly made his presence felt and extended Iran’s lead in the 55th minute with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box as Iran continued to push for goals.
Iran made further attempts to score with Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh coming close to scoring their fifth goal. Palestine’s Alaa Aladdin Hassan and Seyam also tested the Iranian defence with fine attempts in the second half.
In a respite for Palestine late in the match, Qatar referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim changed his red card decision against Mohammed Saleh, leaving the player with a caution for a bad foul after a VAR review.
The in-form Iranians will now take on Hong Kong at Khalifa International Stadium on Friday, a day after Palestine face the UAE at Al Janoub Stadium.
