"Although I’m very happy with the performance of my players, we could have scored but we did not manage to do so. We know that we have a second leg and we will prepare for that match and see what happens,” said Pioli

"We have played six games in a short period and Ronaldo also had a minor injury so we could not bring him to Iran."

Pioli, however, remained positive and is focused on getting the job done when the teams meet again on March 11.

"We had more scoring opportunities than Esteghlal. I was happy with the performance of all my players. They played well and my team is not player-oriented. Our full focus is on the second leg and we will try to play our best game.

"Our team had six 100 percent scoring opportunities but we were unable to use them. Esteghlal also had some opportunities. However, we are preparing ourselves for the return match. It is true that we have not had good results in the past matches, but we will continue to try to have better results."

Esteghlal, buoyed by their home support, held their ground with head coach Miodrag Bozovic content with his team’s defensive resolve.

"It was a tough match for us against a team with quality players individually," said Miodrag Bozovic. "There were moments in the match when they played better or tried to get into scoring positions. There were also moments when we played better and had scoring chances.

“I think they were better than us, but the draw was a deserved result for both teams. I think we are happy with the way the players and the fans performed. I am happy that we did not give up the result and even tried to win. When our goalkeeper is the best player on the field, there is nothing left to say.”