TEHRANTIMES - The reigning Iran Professional League champion, Sepahan, suffered a heavy 3-0 home defeat to Esteghlal in the 10th Week of the IPL on Monday.

Farshid Esmaeili opened the scoring for Esteghlal with a long range shot just six minutes into the game. Jaber Ansari doubled the lead for visitors in the 53rd minute with a header assisted by Yaghoub Karimi. Fourteen minutes later substitute Behnam Barzay made it 3-0 for Esteghlal, finding the back of the net from the six yard box.

“After three consecutive draws we gained a win against Sepahan. I think this win will boost our confidence for the derby against Persepolis,” Esteghlal coach Parviz Mazloumi told reporters.

The Blues cemented its place at the top of the table after this win with 21 points from 10 games.

In another important game of the week, Persepolis defeated Malavan 2-0 in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium. Substitute Ali Alipour scored in the 67th minute while Jerry Bengtson made it 2-0 for Persepolis in the 75th minute.

Elsewhere, Esteghlal Khouzestan defeated Esteghlal Ahvaz 4-0 in Ahwaz derby to climb to second place ahead of Sepahan with 19 points.

Video of Iran Pro League week 10