Match Report
On the table this was a mismatch: Persepolis (1st, 68 pts) held a 47-point advantage over Sanat Naft (16th, 21 pts). Sanat Naft had been over-performing their table position on recent form: 10th in the league over the last five rounds against 16th overall. Scoring rates set the scale: Sanat Naft 0.8 scored and 1.63 conceded per game, Persepolis 1.5 and 0.6, with the league averaging 1.09.
Persepolis had won three straight. Recent form was uneven: 4/15 points for Sanat Naft, 13/15 for Persepolis.
4 meetings are on record — 2 won by Sanat Naft, 1 by Persepolis, 1 drawn, at 2.5 goals per meeting.
The match was played at Takhti Stadium in Abadan (capacity 8,000). Half-time and full-time told different stories: Persepolis led 1-0 at the break, before 2 more goals closed it at 0-3.