Esteghlal capitalized on the dropped points of Sepahan after they drew 1-1 against fellow ACL participating Piroozi on Thursday. The Iranian league runners-up of 2011 have accumulated 58 points from 30 matches – one less than Sepahan with four matches to go in the league.
Pejman Montazeri opened the account in the 15th minute which was followed by Goran Jerkovic’s back-to-back goal in the 26th minute as the Frenchman had scored against Mes Sarchesme a week before. Estaghlal virtually shut all the doors for Saba Qom’s comeback as Meysam Hosseini struck the third goal in the 43rd minute.
After conceding a historical win to any UAE side at Azadi Stadium in their last ACL outing when Group A leader Al Jazira defeated them 2-1, Esteghlal will travel to the UAE for the second of the double header against Al Jazira on Wednesday to amend the loss in Tehran.