Ehsan Hajsafi's glorious volley fired Iran to victory over Bahrain and Omar Abdulrahman starred for UAE as the region's brightest stars turned on the style at the Asian Cup Sunday. Hajsafi's swift control and scything strike from the corner of the box raised the roof at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium as Team Melli opened with a pulsating 2-0 win.
Earlier UAE's top-rated midfielder Oman Abdulrahman bewitched Gulf rivals Qatar in a 4-1 rout achieved through braces to both Ahmed Khalil and Ali Mabkhout in Canberra.
UAE went behind to "Qatari Maradona" Khalfan Ibrahim's sweetly executed volley before they roared back to put a huge hole in the campaign of the 2022 World Cup hosts.
The atmosphere in Melbourne was at fever pitch from the start and Iran almost opened the scoring when Ashkan Dejagah forced a smart stop from Sayed Abbas in the Bahrain goal.
Bahrain's Nigerian-born striker Jaycee Okwunwanne blazed just wide and Sayed Shubbar headed a golden opportunity over as Bahrain threatened to capitalise on Iran's sluggish start.