Tehran derby ends in a tie again

MNA - Tehran favorites Persepolis and Esteghlal battled to a 1-1 stalemate here at the Azadi Stadium in the 9th week of the Iran Professional League (IPL) on Friday.
Persepolis and Esteghlal have met 65 times, with 29 of the games finishing in a tie.

Persepolis captain Karim Bagheri hit the post with a long-range shot in the 6th minute. Arash Borhani could have given Esteghlal the lead in the 18th minute but squandered his chance.

Ebrahim Tore had already missed in a similar situation when he received a good ball from Ali Karimi.


Karimi blew an excellent opportunity for Persepolis in the 33rd minute. Receiving a cross pass from Bagheri, he dribbled past Esteghlal defender Hashem Beigzadeh but his shot went over the bar.

Borhani gave Esteghlal the lead 30 seconds into the second half. Mojtaba Jabbari’s pass found him unmarked on the brink of the Persepolis box and Borhani shot the ball past goalkeeper Mehdi Vaezi.

Persepolis put Esteghlal under pressure afterwards. The Reds’ players threw a barrage of balls into the Esteghlal box but their arch-rival’s defenders didn’t let them get close to Vahid Taleblu’s goal.

Persepolis eventually equalized the match in the 87th minute. Mohammad Mansuri curled a long cross to Esteghlal’s far post, where Bagheri headed into the six yards zone and Karimi’s header poured cold water on Esteghlal’s dreams.