TEHRAN – Esteghlal and Persepolis football teams emerged victorious over their rivals in the 2023/24 Iran Persian Gulf Professional League (PGPL) on Sunday.

Esteghlal edged past Havadar 1-0 in Tehran’s Dastgerdi Stadium thanks to Armin Sohrabian’s header in the first minute of the match.

Earlier in the day, Persepolis defeated Paykan 2-0 in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium. Mohammadhossein Kanaanizadegan netted a brace for Persepolis. He first found the back of the net in the 38th minute from the penalty spot, then made it 2-0 with a header in the 53rd minute.

In Isfahan, Sepahan defeated Gol Gohar 2-0 to remain among the contenders. Reza Shekari scored the first goal in the sixth minute and Kaveh Rezaei netted the second goal in the dying moments of the match.

In Qazvin, Tractor beat Shams Azar 2-0, courtesy of goals from Mehdi Hosseini and Rahman Jafari.

Esteghlal Khuzestan and Foolad shared the spoils in a goalless draw in Ahvaz derby.

Aluminum edged past Nassaji 1-0 in Arak, Mes came from 2-0 behind to draw 2-2 against Zob Ahan in Rafsanjan and Malavan defeated struggling Sanat Naft 1-0 in Bandar Anzali.

Esteghlal remain top with 46 points, three points above Persepolis. Tractor are third with 38 points with a game in hand and Sepahan are fourth with 37 points with two games in hand.