TEHRAN – Persepolis football team suffered a major setback in their hunt for the 2024/25 Iran Persian Gulf Professional League (PGPL) title after being held by Esteghlal Khuzestan on Saturday.

In Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, the Reds were held to a goalless draw by Esteghlal Khuzestan and almost miss the chance of defending title.

In Arak, Sepahan and Aluminum shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Mohammad Karimi scored for Sepahan in the 90th minute from the penalty spot and Amin Kazemian leveled the score in the dying moments of the match.

Rock-bottom Havadar defeated Malavan 2-0 in Tehran and Mes were held to a goalless draw by Nassaji in Rafsanjan.

Tractor lead the table with 54 points and one game in hand, followed by Sepahan and Persepolis with 50 and 48 points, respectively.