Esteghlal defeats Persepolis in Hazfi Cup semis (+Videos)

In a match held at empty Azadi Stadium, Esteghlal’s Mehdi Ghaedi opened the scoring four minutes into the game with a precise technical shot after nutmegging Bashar Rasan inside the box. Despite showing better performance, Esteghlal could not double the lead in the first half.

Determined to return to the game, Persepolis ramped up the pressure early in the second half and Rasan leveled the match in the 49th minute with a strong shot from near the box.

The goal made both teams play with more caution for most of the second half with increased physical encounters in the middle of the pitch.

Just two minutes remaining, Persepolis’ Ali Alipour scored a goal, however, Esteghlal players did not give up and continued pressure till defender Mohammad Daneshgar managed to equalize the match with a header in the injury time.

No special incident happened in the next 30 minutes and finally, Esteghlal won the penalty shootouts 4-1.

Esteghlal, the most decorated team of the event with seven titles, will take on Tractor in the final match which is slated to be held on September 3 in Mashhad.

MAH