In the match held at Azadi Stadium, Persepolis lost 4-2 to Saipa.
Saipa’s Karim Ansarifard scored five minutes into the match. Two minutes later, Amin Manouchehri extended Saipa’s lead.
Referee Saeid Mozaffari sent off Saman Aghazamani of Persepolis due to a bad tackle just one minute before the interval.
Ali Karimi came off the bench for Persepolis in the second half.
Karimi and coach Mustafa Denizli have buried the hatchet after a dispute in which the Persepolis striker criticized the coach over the team’s lineup for the match against Al Gharafa of Qatar in the AFC Champions League.
Majid Gholamnejad scored Saipa’s third goal in the 58th minute. Ebrahim Shakouri pulled a goal back in the 74th minute with a beautiful shot, but Milad Gharibi was on target for Saipa in the 79th minute and made it 4-1.
With three minutes remaining, Alireza Nourmohammadi scored a consolation goal for Persepolis.