The reigning Saudi King’s Cup champion is currently top of Group C with six points from three matches, having lost its last match to Iran’s Persepolis 1-0 on Tuesday.

Al-Taawoun faces the Iranian side again on Friday.

Carteron, 50, had resigned from his post as head coach of Egyptian giant Zamalek SC after just nine months in charge. In his short spell in Cairo Carteron led Zamalek to the 2020 Egyptian Super Cup and CAF Super Cup titles while also guiding the team to the semi-finals of the CAF Champions League.

Persepolis went into the game chasing its first win in the 2020 edition, but for the team to do so, it needed to overcome unbeaten Al-Taawoun.

The deadlock was broken with eight minutes to go through the unlikeliest of sources. An out-swinging corner at the near post was nodded onto the path of defender Khalilzadeh, who was well-positioned at the far post to control and apply a left-footed finish into the bottom corner to hand Persepolis what would prove to be the winning goal.

Despite the defeat, Al-Taawoun remains top of Group C thanks to a superior head-to-head record over second-placed Al-Duhail SC who had beaten Sharjah FC earlier in the day to reach six points, while Persepolis climbs above Sharjah into second place with four points, just two behind the group leader at the halfway point.

Persepolis will resume its continental duties on a high, having secured its fourth consecutive Iran Pro League title with a 14-point margin.

Al-Taawoun, meanwhile, survived a domestic scare, managing to avoid relegation on the final day of the 2020 season, having finished third in 2018-19.

On the AFC Champions League front, Al-Taawoun started brightly, winning its opening two matches, with Faisal Darwish settling the away tie against Sharjah while goals from veteran Mohammed Al Sahlawi and Abdulmajeed Al Swat downed Al Duhail SC 2-0.

A win on Tuesday will see the Saudis takes an important leap towards qualification to the Round of 16 for the first time in its history, its only previous appearance in the competition culminating in a group stage exit in 2017.

Persepolis needs to collect as many points from its two back-to-back ties against Al-Taawoun if it is to keep its chances of advancing to the knockout stage alive and to avoid a disappointment similar to that of last year when it exited in the group stage having been finalists the year before.

Coach Yahya Golmohammadi’s men face Saudi opposition for the sixth time in the AFC Champions League, having won once, drawn as many and lost three, while Al-Taawoun faces its second Iranian opposition in just its second appearance in the AFC Champions League – its first being Persepolis’ fierce rival Esteghlal FC who bettered the team home and away in Group A in 2017.