score 1–1 at half-time. The match was very open in the second half and finally in the 71st minute, Mehrdad Oladi broke through and chipped Mehdi Rahmati to win the game for Persepolis 2–1. Later on that season, Persepolis finished 3rd in the league, one place above Esteghlal who finished 4th. Persepolis 2 – Esteghlal 1 (February 3, 2010) – Before this derby, six straight derby games between the two had finished 1–1. Many fans were claiming that the matches had been fixed to avoid having a losing team. Both teams had the same owner, a fact that obviously added fuel to the fire. Prior to this game, the two teams had a several year-long tradition of eating dinner together on the evening before the games, a tradition which did not take place ahead of this very tense game. Much to many fans' expectations this game was also about to end in a 1–1 draw before Karim Bagheri scored a screamer from 35 yards late in the game to win the match 2–1 for Persepolis. Esteghlal 1 – Persepolis 0 (October 15, 2010) – The match was tied late in the game when Esteghlal got a counterattack and captain Farhad Majidi scored the winning goal in the 91st minute. Esteghlal 3 – Persepolis 0 (December 9, 2011) – The first meeting of the two teams in the Hazfi Cup in over a decade, the match was tied 0–0 at the end of regulation time leading to overtime. In over time Esteghlal dominated the game scoring three goals claiming their 24th win in the derby and their fourth consecutive competitive win (only considering Persian Gulf Pro League and the Hazfi Cup) for Esteghlal over their city rivals. Indeed, the match 73 in the chart below happened almost one month before this match (which is match 74) and was a draw. This derby was the largest goal margin in 14 years and the largest Esteghlal win in over 30 years. Esteghlal 2 – Persepolis 3 (February 2, 2012) – After losing four times in a row (but only considering Persian Gulf Pro League and the Hazfi Cup, i.e. matches 70–72 and 74, match 73 being a draw), Persepolis and its fans were desperate for a win over their blue rivals. Head coach Mustafa Denizli had returned to the reds for the second half of the season and had previously experienced victory over