Persepolis: Abdi Qara's goal voted best of 2020 AFC Champions League
The Iranian's header against Al-Nassr in the semi-final was voted the best goal of the 2020 AFC Champions League by the fans.
The Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) official website has announced that Persepolis' goal against Al-Nassr in the AFC Champions League semi-final scored by Mehdi Abdi Qara was voted by the fans as the tournament's best goal, outvoting strikes from Al-Nassr's Abdulrazzak Hamdulla and Abdulrahman Al Obaid, Yokohama's Theerathon Bunmathan, and Esteghlal's Cheick Diabate.
Abdi Qara's header leveled the score for his team against Al-Nassr 42 minutes into the tournament's semi-final before Persepolis sealed their controversial qualification for the final of the ACL by defeating the Saudi side 5-3 in the penalty shootout.
The Iranian midfielder's goal earned 31.61% of fans' votes, with the second of his goals against eventual champions Ulsan Hyundai FC in the final finishing third in the poll with 17.26%. Al-Nassr's Abdulrahman Al Obaid's goal against Qataris Al-Sadd finished second, having accrued 22.48% of the votes.
Even though Abdi Qara's goal looks simple, it sets a great example of combining perfect timing and accuracy from both in the execution of the header, and in the extremely precise cross delivered by Bashar Resan.
Following Persepolis' semi-final victory, Al-Nassr filed a complaint to the AFC, claiming the ineligibility of some opposition players who participated in the game. However, the Iranian side played the final, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Japanese champions Ulsan Hyundai who lifted their second AFC Champions League trophy in three years.