Persian Gulf Pro League:
Esteghlal beats 10-man Iralco to go top
Esteghlal moved atop the Persian Gulf Pro League table, thanks to a 3-1 home victory over Iralco at the Shahr-e Qods Stadium.
In-form Albanian winger Jasir Asani put the Tehran Blues ahead from the spot in the 17th minute, after being fouled in the box by Yassin Jorjani. Former Barcelona player Munir El Haddadi headed home Alireza Koushki’s delicate cross to double the home side’s lead in the first-half added time.
Rahman Jafari pulled one back for the visitors with a 52nd-minute penalty, but Reza Marzban was sent off for a second bookable offence on the hour mark, before Koushki’s glancing header restored the two-goal cushion five minutes later.
Esteghlal sits atop the tight standings – in which the top eight are separated by just four points – with 16 points from nine games, with Iralco is seventh with 13.
Elsewhere, Moharram Navidkia’s Sepahan walked away with a 1-0 win at Shams Azar – courtesy of Arash Rezavand’s strike midway through the first half – to cut the gap at the top to a single point.
Foolad Khuzestan had substitute Abolfazl Zadeh-Attar’s 96th-minute equalizer to thank for salvaging a point in the Ahvaz Derby against Esteghlal Khuzestan, after Aref Rostami had given the home side a 19th-minute lead.
Zob Ahan and Malavan shared the spoils in a goalless stalemate in Isfahan – the same scoreline between Khaybar and Golgohar Sirjan in Khorramabad.
Chadormalou continued its impressive start to the season with a 3-2 away victory over Mes Rafsanjan to sit third with 14 points.
On Thursday, defending champion Tractor and Persepolis drew 1-1 in an empty Bonyan Diesel Stadium in Tabriz.
Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh thought he had secured the Tractor’s first victory over Persepolis since February 2022 when his low effort from the edge of the box found the bottom corner in the 88th minute.
The Tehran Reds, however, had the final say, as Montenegrin midfielder Marko Bakić drew the visitors level with a sumptuous free kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time.