The group stage of the AFC Champions League is currently underway, with Group E being held completely in Goa. However, the city has been placed under night curfew in light of the surging Covid cases in India. Nevertheless, the ACL is expected to go ahead despite the restrictions.
FC Goa will continue to play their AFC Champions League matches despite a new night curfew in the city. The Indian Super League club is in its debut ACL campaign, which was put under threat due to a surge in Covid cases across India. However, the competition will continue as scheduled, with all of Group E matches set to take place at the Fatorda Stadium in Goa.
The Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, announced a new night curfew in the city between 10 pm and 6 am. However, Goa Sports Minister Manohar Ajgaonkar reiterated that the AFC Champions League matches will continue to take place in a quote to Sportstar.
The closed-door matches and training sessions can continue as per schedule,
he told Sportstar.
All twelve matches are currently being played in Goa and the group stage has already reached its midway point. Two matches are scheduled for each match-day, with the first one taking place at 8 pm while the second at 10:30 pm.
FC Goa are currently third in the table in Group E, behind leaders Persepolis and Al Wahda. The top side in the group will qualify automatically for the knockout stage of the competition. Meanwhile, the side which finishes second will be ranked amongst similarly placed teams across other groups, with the best ones progressing to the next round.
Juan Ferrando’s team drew against Laurent Blanc’s Al Rayyan in their opening match of the competition. They then recorded their second consecutive 0-0 draw against Al Wahda on matchday 2 of the group stage.
Goa finally scored their first goal of the tournament against Iran giants Persepolis. Edu Bedia headed in from a set-piece to give the home side the lead. Nevertheless, Persepolis hit back almost instantly through Mehdi Torabi before scoring the winner in the 24th minute, thanks to Jalal Hosseini. The two teams will meet again on matchday 4 of the group stage on April 23 at 10:30 pm.
