Traktor played Persepolis in the third matchday of the Pro League Persian Gulf at home on 24 August 2026. The visitors came in fourth with ten points while the hosts sat at the top with thirteen. The match ended with Traktor taking all three points.
There was only one card in the game, S. Moghanlou picked up a yellow on twenty-four minutes. The action stayed quiet until the final moments when T. Strkalj found the net in the ninetieth minute and added another two minutes into stoppage. Several changes came on in the closing stages — T. Bifouma, A. Alipour, M. Mohebi, P. Latififar, M. Khodabandelou, M. Shiri, M. Kazemayn, and S. Moghanlou all came off or came on as the clock ran down.
Traktor showed one yellow card and no reds. Persepolis went through without any bookings. The statistics don't tell the full story — the match was decided in those last two minutes rather than through sustained pressure.
The result keeps Traktor at the summit after five games with four wins and a draw. Persepolis remain in fourth place with three victories, a draw and a defeat, now three points behind. It was a narrow margin and the gap could shift quickly.
Traktor had won their last three league matches before this — beating Sepahan, Paykan, and Shabab Al-Ahli — while Persepolis had mixed results recently with wins against Esteghlal Khuzestan and Shams Azar Kazvin but losses to Chomhalou and Khaybar-Khorramabad. By then the momentum had swung in favour of the hosts.