TEHRAN – Seyyed Mehdi Seyyed Salehi celebrated his double to help Sepahan fight back and beat Syria’s Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the AFC Champions League opener in Fuladshahr Stadium in Isfahan, central Iran, Wednesday.

The yellow-clad Sepahan possessed the ball and field, but the visiting side opened the scoring after 12 minutes with a deflected header.

Supported by over 20,000 fans, Sepahan secured the parity 11 minutes later through Salehi who beat the keeper with a side-footed drive from close range.

Salehi scored the winner in the 25th minute, heading home and sending the crowd wild with applause.

The two teams failed to net after the interval.

Sepahan will travel to Saudi Arabia to play Al-Shabab on March 21.