Starting with as many as eight new faces, FC Goa were thrashed 4-0 by Iranian champions Persepolis FC in their return-leg AFC Champions Lea...
Starting with as many as eight new faces, FC Goa were thrashed 4-0 by Iranian champions Persepolis FC in their return-leg AFC Champions League Group E match in Goa on Friday.
Shahriar Moghanlou (24th minute), Mehadi Torabi (43rd), Issa Alkasir (47th) and Kamal Kamyabinia (58th) scored for the winners in a completely one-sided match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
This was the Goa, the first Indian team to play at this level of the top-tier continental championship, heaviest loss after playing out 0-0 draws against Al Rayyan of Qatar and Al Wahda of the UAE, and losing to Persepolis 1-2 in the first leg.
Playing three matches in a week prior to this game forced Goa coach Juan Ferrando to make wholesale changes to the starting XI, with as many as nine Indians. But the move hampered the team’s prospects against the fancied Iranian club’s attacking prowess.
Ivan Gonzalez captained FC Goa in the absence of suspended Edu Bedia.
Team news is in!
— FC Goa (@FCGoaOfficial) April 23, 2021
Coach @JuanFerrandoF has gone with 9⃣ Indians in the line-up against Persepolis. 💪🏻🇮🇳#RiseAgain #GOAPRS #FCGoaInAsia #ACL2021 pic.twitter.com/5QFqgi16ww
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