TEHRAN -- Esteghlal jumped up to top of the Iran Professional League (IPL) as it defeated Abu Moslem of Khorasan 2-0 in Mashhad in the 18th week on Sunday.

Mehdi Amirabadi’s early goal gave in-form Esteghlal the lead when his strange angle shot past Abu Moslem keeper Shahab Gordan in the 13th minute.
Abu Moslem’s goal was ruled out by referee Saeid Mozaffarizadeh shortly after due to being offside.
Abu Moslem was the better team after the interval but they failed to take advantage of their many chances.
Esteghlal keeper Vahid Taleblu had some excellent saves in the match which made the blues the pacesetter of the IPL.
When Abu Moslem put the visitors under pressure to cancel out their goal, Siavash Akbarpur sealed the victory in the added time. Esteghlal unmarked player received a pass from Ali Alizadeh on the edge of the six yards zone and opened the goal.
Esteghlal jumped up to the top of the IPL with 34 points, followed by Zob Ahan with 33 points and one match in hand and trailed by Peykan with 30 points