Tractor Surpasses Esteghlal with 80,000 Spectators

In the most important match of the 18th week of the Iranian Premier Football League, which had eighty thousand spectators, Tractor Sazi Tabriz defeated Esteghlal Tehran by one goal. Despite the hailstorm, a large crowd gathered on the hills and heights surrounding the Yadegar Imam Stadium in Tabriz to watch the game. Esteghlal had not conceded a goal in their previous six league matches, but Ashkan Dejagah, the standout player of this match, managed to secure three crucial points for his team. In the battle of the Belgian and German coaches, Georges Leekens tactically outmaneuvered Winfried Schäfer, keeping his team in fifth place in the standings. The match was intense and engaging, even when the ball was in the midfield and no opportunities were created. For Tractor, Mohsen Farzan, Mohammad Tayebi, Iman Salimi, Daniel Esmaeili Far, Ehsan Hajsafi, Mehdi Mahdipour, Akbar Imani, Masoud Shojaei, Ashkan Dejagah (Ali Abdollahzadeh), Yuki Sugita, and Anthony Stokes played. For Esteghlal, Mehdi Rahmati, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Armin Sohrabi, Pejman Montazeri, Milad Zakipour, Ali Karimi (Allahyar Sayyadmanesh), Omid Noorafkan, Voria Ghafouri (Godwin Mensah), Farshid Esmaeili, Daryoush Shojaian, and Morteza Tabatabai (Isma) participated. The only goal of the match was scored in the 52nd minute. Hajsafi made a long pass to Dejagah on the right side of the field, who then broke free from Esteghlal's defenders to score past Rahmati. In this match, Mohammad Danshgar and Farshid Bagheri from Esteghlal were absent due to suspension. The first leg between the two teams ended with a 3-0 victory for Esteghlal, managed by Welsh coach John Toshack. In other matches, Sepahan Isfahan managed to defeat their hosts Paykan with a goal from Siavash Yazdani. This marks Paykan's eighth consecutive defeat in the Premier League, a record that has caused them to drop from the top teams to the list of relegation candidates. Sepidrood Rasht and Machine Sazi Tabriz also ended in a 1-1 draw. Ehsan Tayidi scored for Machine Sazi, but Meysam Tahidast equalized in the 94th minute. In the standings, Sepahan leads with 38 points, followed by Persepolis with 37 points. Padideh has 35 points in third place. Tractor is fourth with 33 points, while Esteghlal has 28 points and Foolad has 22 points in the subsequent ranks. The five teams at the bottom of the table fighting to avoid relegation are Esteghlal Khuzestan, Sepidrood, Zob Ahan, Naft Masjed Soleyman, and Paykan.