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Number Seven Thousand Eight Hundred - 07 April 2025
Iran Daily - Number Seven Thousand Eight Hundred - 07 April 2025 - Page 6

Persian Gulf Pro League:

Tractor extends lead to close in on maiden title

A defining round of fixtures at the Persian Gulf Pro League saw Tractor open a four-point lead on top of the table with a game in hand to edge ever closer to a maiden Iranian top-flight crown.
Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh’s first-half double steered Tractor to a 2-1 victory over Esteghlal at home on Friday.
A Ramin Rezaeian’s corner-kick was deflected off Tractor skipper Shoja Khalilzadeh’s knee in the eighth minute to silence the capacity crowd at the Yadegar-e Imam Stadium, before Hosseinzadeh found the net twice inside 14 minutes against his former club to take his tally to 16 goals across all competitions for the season.
Tractor’s massive win was followed by frustrating draws for nearest rivals Sepahan and Persepolis on Saturday.
A late drama in Arak saw Sepahan take a 92nd-minute lead against Iralco through Mohammad Karimi’s spot-kick after the visitors were awarded a controversial penalty following a lengthy VAR review.
Just when Sepahan – down to 10 men after French midfielder Steven Nzonzi was sent off in the 89th minute – thought it had done enough to walk away with maximum points, Mohammad-Amin Kazemian salvaged a draw for the home side from the spot in the 12th minute of stoppage time – a ninth goal of the season for the Iralco striker.
Meanwhile, Persepolis’s bid for an eighth league title in nine seasons was dealt a massive blow after a goalless stalemate at home against Esteghlal Khuzestan.
Hit by a flu virus in the buildup to the game, Ismail Kartal’s men were insipid and out of sorts throughout the game, with the courageous visitors registering more attempts and shots on target than the defending champions at the Azadi Stadium, which welcomed only female supporters due to ban for the Tehran Reds.
Tractor is on top of table with 54 points, with Sepahan (50) and Persepolis (48) lagging behind and likely to battle it out for a runner-up finish and an Asian Champions League Elite spot in the remaining five rounds of fixtures.
Elsewhere, Iranian international center-back Ali Nemati gave Foolad Khuzestan a 53rd-minute lead against Golgohar Sirjan at home, only to see his goal canceled out by Mahdi Tikdari 11 minutes later as it finished 1-1 between the fourth and fifth teams of the table on Friday.
Ali Yahyazadeh’s early strike helped Chadormalou end a four-game losing streak with a 1-0 win at Zob Ahan.
In Tehran, Dariush Shojaeian and Karim Eslami scored in each half as Havadar defeated 10-man Malavan 2-0 to keep slim survival hopes alive.
Having a game in hand, Havadar remains at the bottom of table with 18 points but managed to close the gap on Mes Rafsanjan and Nassaji Mazandaran to six and three points, respectively, after the fellow-relegation candidates played to a goalless result in Rafsanjan.

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