JEDDAH: Al-Hilal will host Al-Ittihad in Riyadh next Sunday in final that will decide who will be the champions of the Saudi Professional League. Both teams scored comfortable wins in round 20 yesterday.
In Makkah, at King Abdul Aziz Sport City, Ittihad gained three points after they beat Al-Wehda 3-1. Ittihad was first to score in the 4th minute from Hesham Busharwan from a string shot inside the penalty box.
Tariq Al-Muwallad scored an own goal in the 62nd minute giving Ittihad a 2-0 lead.
Wehda reduced the margin with a fine shot by Essa Al-Muhayyani in the 72nd minute before Busharwan made the issues safe for Ittihad three minutes before the end following penalty kick.
Ittihad increased their points to 52 while Wehda remains in the seventh place with 23 points.
In Riyadh, Hilal secured a very important win against Al-Ittifaq after winning 2-0.
Thus, they kept their hopes of winning the league alive but with Ittihad having advantage. Hilal strengthened their presence in the second place with 50 points, two points behind Ittihad.
Ittifaq remained sixth in the standing with 28 points. In the final, Hilal has to score a win while Ittihad needs only a draw to bag the title.
Hilal will have home crowd advantage as the game will be played in Riyadh. This will not be a problem for Ittihad who also be backed by large Ittihad supporters in their last fight in the League.
Ahli defeated Al-Raid in Jeddah at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal stadium after winning the 3-2. Ahli stayed in the third place with 36 points while Al-Raid is in critical situation and are in the tenth place with 15 points.
Najran defeated Al-Watani 2-0 in Najran to increase their points tally to 21 which enabled them to avoid relegation. Al-Watani on the other hand are certain to be relegated to the first division as they are last on the League table and have only 11 points.
Shabab defeated Al-Nasr in Riyadh 2-1 and are in hunt for third place along with Al-Ahli.
Shabab is fourth in the standing with 35 points, one point away from Ahli while Nasr remained fifth in the standing with 31 points. Abha and Al-Hazem played to a 0-0 draw in Abha. Abha will be relegated and play next season in the first division with 13 points while Al-Hazem is eight in the standing with 22 points.
