JEDDAH: Round 16 of the Saudi Professional League ended the way it started: Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad first and second in the team standings. Hilal brought down Al-Ahli 1-0 on an early goal by Yaser Al-Qahtani at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here while Ittihad scored an emphatic 4-0 victory over Al-Shabab at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh yesterday.
The victories put Hilal and Ittihad equal on 43 points though Ittihad are in second place on goal difference.
If anything, Ittihad’s big win sent a strong message to Hilal about the Jeddah-based team’s resolve to overhaul its rival’s slim lead.
With the defeat, Shabab froze at third place with 30 points and officially out of the competition for the top spot. The only surprise in this round came from cellar dweller Abha after it managed to secure a 1-0 win against Al-Ittifaq. This is only the second win for Abha in the tournament. Ittifaq remained in fourth position with 26 points.
In other matches yesterday, Najran and Wehda drew 2-2 in Najran, Nasr scored a 1-0 win against Al-Raid at Prince Faisal bin Fahd stadium in Riyadh and Al-Hazem defeated Al-Watani 3-0 in Al-Rass.
The end of this round effectively narrowed the battle for the top rank between Hilal and Ittihad while relegation matches are expected to figure prominently among the bottom four teams fighting to avoid being dropped to the First Division.
The tournament resumes with round 17 matches on March 1.
