JEDDAH: Al-Hilal has become the Saudi Professional League champions when the scored once in each half to get the better of Al-Hazem 2-0 in round 19, three rounds before the last fixture.
Essa Al-Muhayyani drew first blood in the 41st minute and Nawaf Al-Abed scored the second goal in the 72nd minute.
Al-Hilal tallied 50 points, with 16 wins, two draws and a defeat. Al-Hazem is ninth in the standing with 19 points.
In another match, Al-Ittihad got the better of Al-Nasr by a solitary goal scored by Talal Al-Meshal in the ninth minute at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh.
With this win, Al-Ittihad strengthens their position in third place with 36 points. A point behind second-placed Al-Shabab.
Al-Ittihad has a strong chance of finishing runners-up to Al-Hilal as they still have one match in hand. Al-Nasr remains fourth on the table with 30 points.
In the last match of the day, Al-Raid defeated Qadesiya 2-0 in Buraidah. Al-Raid is 11th with the same number of points while Qadesiya too has 11 points.
Round 20 of the Saudi league will resume on Thursday.
