The Blues, which humiliated their archrival Persepolis 3-0 on Friday in Iran’s Hazfi Cup quarterfinals, lost in a home game to Sanat Naft 2-1.
Siamak Kohnavard gave the visiting team a lead just 10 minutes into the match but Esteghlal captain Farhad Majidi equalized the match in the 30th minute.
Hadi Ramezani doubled Sanat Naft’s lead after Esteghlal keeper Mehdi Rahmati failed to save Founeke Sy’s long range shot two minutes later.
“It was my first match as Sanat Naft coach and we succeeded to beat one the Iranian best teams. I am satisfied with my men’s performance against Esteghlal. We have to strengthen our defensive line in the next matches,” Jose Alberto Costa, who replaced Gholamhossein Peyrovani last week, said in the post match news conference.