Independence's Rise to the Top of Iran's Premier Football League

The football team Independence secured its position at the top of Iran's Premier Football League with a 2-1 victory over Naft Tehran. Independence had not scored against Naft since October 2013, when they drew 1-1, and had experienced three consecutive defeats. Thus, after 702 days, they finally scored against Naft in a small Tehran derby, earning three crucial points. Under the guidance of coach Parviz Mazlumi, they reached 15 points, standing one point ahead of Sepahan, while the similarly named Khuzestani team is in third place. The second half of the match was significantly more exciting and dynamic compared to the cold and calm first half. In this game, Alireza Mansourian, due to his history with Independence, did not rise from the bench and directed his team while seated, a sign of loyalty to his former team that is not professional towards the team he is contracted with, and there is no similar precedent for coaches in world football. Following this defeat, Naft, after being eliminated from the AFC Champions League, now sits in 15th place in the Premier League. In the 52nd minute, Fakhradini opened the scoring with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, making it 1-0 for Independence. A minute later, Jaber Ansari missed a golden opportunity to extend the lead. What Ansari failed to do, Omid Ebrahimi accomplished three minutes later. A penalty was awarded for a foul on Shahbazadeh, and Ebrahimi's shot put Independence ahead 2-0. Naft seemed to need to fall behind to showcase their attacking capabilities, launching extensive attacks on Independence's goal and defense. In the 65th minute, Alois Nangg escaped the offside trap, got behind Independence's defenders, and reduced the deficit by passing the ball past Rahmati. He could have equalized but failed to change the match's outcome. The remaining minutes were filled with threats from Naft on Independence's goal and several counterattacks from the blue-clad Tehran team. The lineup for Independence included Mehdi Rahmati, Amin Haj Mohammad, Hanif Omran Zadeh, Meysam Majidi, Milad Fakhradini, Omid Ebrahimi, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Khosrow Heydari (Behnam Barzai), Mohsen Karimi (Mohammad Reza Kharsandnia), Jaber Ansari (Pro Pjic), and Sajad Shahbazadeh. For Naft, Vahid Sheikh Visi stood in goal. When Alireza Beiranvand, the national team goalkeeper for Naft, realized he had no place in the starting lineup, he refused to warm up and was subsequently removed from the 18-man squad. Other Naft players in this match included Seyed Jalal Hosseini, Carlos Santos, Vahid Hamdinejad, Siamak Kouroshi, Mehdi Shiri, Mehdi Momeni (Amir Arslan Motahari), Vahid Amiri, Hamid Bouhamdan (Abbas Bouazar), Payam Sadeghian, and Alois Nangg. After his team's victory, Parviz Mazlumi stated: 'The first half was not impressive, but we fully analyzed the opponent's performance in that half. I regret that we pulled back a bit after the second goal, which allowed them to put pressure on our goal.' The coach of Naft criticized Beiranvand, saying: 'If a player only sees himself and not the team, it harms the team. Beiranvand is far from becoming like Rahmati and reaching the national team. This behavior deserves a red card. We will definitely deal with him.'