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Persian Gulf Pro League:
Sepahan extends winning streak to go top
In-form striker Mohammad Asgari gave Sepahan an early lead at the Foolad Arena, tapping home center-back Ali Nemati’s misjudged headed clearance into the bottom corner nine minutes into the game.
The visitors had a glorious chance to double their lead from the penalty spot on the half-hour mark, only to see veteran skipper Ehsan Hajsafi send his effort well over the crossbar.
Asgari’s strike nevertheless proved enough for Sepahan to extend its winning streak in the Iranian top flight to seven games. The result helped Moharram Navidkia’s side – having managed just one victory in their first six matches of the campaign – move atop of the table with 27 points, two clear of Persepolis, which has played a game more and defeated Iralco 1-0 at home on Saturday.
A fifth defeat in 14 matches left Foolad languishing in 13th place with 13 points, just two above the relegation zone, compounding the pressure on under-fire head coach Yahya Golmohammadi, who saw sections of the home crowd chant against him after the final whistle.
Elsewhere, Esteghlal missed the opportunity to move into third place after being held to a 1-1 draw by Khaybar in Khorramabad.
Albanian winger Jasir Asani gave the visiting Blues a flying start, scoring his sixth goal of the campaign from the penalty spot in the eighth minute, before Mehrdad Qanbari sent Spanish goalkeeper Antonio Adán the wrong way from the spot to level the scores in the 27th minute.
Khaybar thought it had found a second goal in first-half stoppage time, but it was ruled out by VAR, which deemed Aref Qezel to have fouled an Esteghlal defender before heading home from close range.
Esteghlal sits fourth in the table with 22 points, trailing third-placed Chadormalu by two points with a game in hand.
Chadormalu, the surprise package of the season, continued its impressive run with a 3-1 home victory over struggling Esteghlal Khuzestan.
Ecuadorian summer signing Cristian Martínez was on target twice to give the host a two-goal lead by the 27th minute.
Hamid Bouhamdan gave the Southern Blues a late lifeline by converting a penalty in the 83rd minute, but Chadormalu restored its two-goal cushion two minutes later when Reza Mahmoudabadi’s deflected effort from the edge of the box found the back of the net.
Esteghlal Khuzestan remained third from bottom in the table, level on points with city rival Foolad.
The biggest upset of the day came at Sirous Qayeqran Stadium in Bandar Anzali, where Maziar Zare’s Malavan suffered a 4-0 home defeat against newly promoted Fajr Sepasi.
Sasan Jafarikia, Yadegar Rostami (penalty), and Farshid Esmaeili scored within a 14-minute spell to give Pirouz Qorbani’s Fajr a shock three-goal lead by halftime, before Meisam Moradi capped a well-worked counter-attack in the 68th minute to put the result beyond doubt.
The victory lifted Fajr to eighth place with 18 points, leapfrogging Malavan on goal difference, although Zare’s side has a game in hand.
In Sirjan, Siavash Yazdani and Aliasghar Ashouri scored two late first-half goals as Golgohar secured a 2-0 home win over Mes Rafsanjan.
Golgohar sits seventh with 20 points, while Mes remained bottom of the table with eight points.