Tehran – The much anticipated matchup between Persepolis and Esteghlal took place at Azadi Stadium on 15 April. Entering the match, Persepolis and Esteghlal were tied with forty-five points in the IPL Table.
Star forward Mehdi Taremi scored in the 6th and 35th minute to give Persepolis a commanding 2-0 lead heading into the interval.
Defender Ramin Rezaeian made it 3-0 nine minutes into the second half. Two minutes later Jaber Ansari pulled one back for Esteghlal and for a moment maybe it looked as if Esteghlal would have a chance to claw their way back.
Thirty minutes later Mohsen Mosalman added a fourth for Persepolis to make it 4-1 in front of the ecstatic Persepolis fans.
Omid Ebrahimi scored a penalty kick in the 89th minute to cut the lead to 4-2 but it was too little too late.
The win for Persepolis now puts them at the top of the IPL with forty-eight points due to due Esteghlal Khuzestan’s scoreless draw with Naft Tehran on 14 April.
Prior to the match, Mehdi Taremi said that the winner of the Tehran Derby would go on to win the Iranian Pro League. Persepolis may be at the top of the table at the moment but there are still four games left to play.