Iran's Persepolis have one foot in the knockout phase of the Asian Champions League after beating FC Goa 2-1 for their third straight victory in Group E on Tuesday. Runners-up in 2018 and 2020, the Iranian giants were however tested by the Goans who went a goal up with Spaniard Eduardo Bedia heading in a Brandon Fernandes free-kick in the 14th minute at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Margao, India. Persepolis, who earlier had beaten Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia and Qatar's Al Rayyan, hit back four minutes later through a neat Mahdi Torabi penalty after Isa Alkasir was brought down inside the box. Torabi turned provider in the 24th minute with his cross from the left flank finding captain Seyed Hossaini who made no mistake with his header past Goa goalkeeper Dheeraj Singh. Singh once again was the hero for Goa, making several saves in the second half to frustrate the Iranians Also in Group E, Qatar's Al Rayyan were left ruing a golden chance to grab their first win when they wasted a two-goal cushion to crash to a 3-2 defeat against the UAE's Al Wahda in Margao, India. Veteran Fares Juma headed in the winner with the last touch of the Group E game in the fifth minute of added time as Henk ten Cate's side completed a remarkable comeback in Margao. Al Rayyan had gone ahead in the 13th minute through Shoja Khalilzadeh with Abdulaziz Hatem consolidating in the 54th minute to have Al Wahda under considerable pressure. But goals by Manea Aydh, Khalil Ibrahim and Juma in a span of 24 minutes turned the tide as Al Wahda grabbed their first win to go second behind Persepolis in the standings. str/dmc