Esteqlal has thrashed Naft Abadan 6-2 at home to replace Zob Ahan in the second place in Iran's Premier League, closing in on IPL leader Sepahan.

The Blues came from a goal behind to end the first half 2-1 in their favor, thanks to goals by Mehdi Seyyed Salehi (21') and Mojtaba Jabbari (29').

Hadi Shakouri (54'), Farhad Majidi (65'), Seyyed Salehi (68') and Arash Borhani (90'+2') scored for Esteqlal in the second half to secure a dazzling home victory at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

The victory sent Esteqlal to the second place with 58 points from 31 games, three points behind top-placed Sepahan, which will face Saba on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Zob Ahan lost 2-1 to Pas and now stands in third place with 56 points. Teraktorsazi is fourth with 53 points.

AKM/HGH