TEHRAN -- Esteghlal went four points clear at the top of the Iran’s Professional League standing on Saturday by beating Rah Ahan in the 8th week of IPL here at the Azadi Stadium.

Tehran-based football team Esteghlal beat Rah Ahan (Rail Road) 2-1 in front of about 50,000 spectators and received a big boost ahead of Tehran’s derby which is slated for Friday between Persepolis and Esteghlal.
Mojtaba Zare gave Rah Ahan the lead in the 29th minute but Piruz Ghorbani’s header equalized the match six minutes later. Arash Borhani doubled the score in the 39th minute and Esteghlal sealed a valuable victory.
Esteghlal is sixth in the IPL table, bagging 10 points. Bargh of Shiraz is IPL leader with 14 points, followed by Peykan and Persepolis respectively