According to Mehr reporter, Alireza Biranvand said in a press conference after the match with Esteghlal of Tajikistan: “We were better than the opponent in the first half and we were able to score a goal.” In the second half, the situation was different for our team and we suffered a physical loss, and this affected the performance of the players and caused us to receive the equalizing goal.
He continued: Out of the 23 people who have traveled to Tajikistan, 18 have contracted the cold virus, and 7 players of the team could not appear on the field at all due to this cold. The conditions for promotion became difficult, if we could win this game and pave our way to the elimination stage. Esteghlal of Tajikistan also showed a good team and had several chances to score.
We will recover from tomorrow for the game with Sepahan
Biranvand added: I hope we will get the necessary results in the upcoming games and be able to advance from our group to the elimination stage. From tomorrow we will start our recovery for the crucial meeting with Sepahan in order to achieve a sweet victory in the Premier League.
The goalkeeper of Persepolis continued: We do not underestimate any team and we respect all the teams we play against. Most of the players had a cold, and because of this, Esteghlal was able to perform better than us in the second half. We only had one full practice yesterday and the players were not ready because they had a cold. Persepolis has great players and God willing, this result will be compensated in the next games.
With the efforts of the medical staff, many players reached today’s game
Biranvand added: “Yesterday, before training, I had a severe cold, but today, thanks to the doctors, I was able to play and I was in good condition.” We should thank the team’s medical staff, who made most of the players who had a cold ready to play. I do my training well and the technical staff uses me whenever they see fit, and whenever there is no need for me to be present, the other goalkeepers stand inside the goal. Thank God we have three young goalkeepers and they are promising players of Iranian football. If they are now in the Persepolis team, it is a sign of the abilities they have shown.
In the end, the goalkeeper of Persepolis said: I thank the good people of Tajikistan for their hospitality. The fans had created a good atmosphere in the stadium and I must also give special thanks to the Iranian fans who were present in the stadium who did not stop their support until the last minute of the game and encouraged all the players. The remaining two matches against Al Nasr and Al Duhail will be very difficult for us, but I hope that with the support of the fans, we can win these games and advance to the next round.