Ittihad moves third temporarily after beating Shoalah 3-2. Hilal meets Ahli today. If Ahli wins or draw Ittihad will remain third , and if Hilal wins they come back to third. With eleven points gap and almost 10 matches to go. Ittihad can still catch Nasser to close finish or atleast throw Ahli out of second place.. Todays match btw Ahli and Hilal will be tough one specially for Ahli , as they are in fatigue due to heavy matches being played since CPC Semis, Final and AFC Champions League qualifier against Qadsiya where they played for 120 minutes.
FT: Ahli 1-1 Hilal. Hilal showed some good signs in the 1st half, but they were non existent in the 2nd one. Samaras is actually better with the ball than I thought, he reads the game well and seems to connect easily with his teammates. The field turf is very, very terrible, and I think both teams suffered on it. Something has to be done to fix the problem, you can't have that turf in such a beautiful stadium.
So Ittihad remains third.. Yes I agree with you Aimar, the pitch is terrible since opening. They even once removed the turf and refurbish is again.A company like Aramco is losing its creditability in not managing the turf properly.
And I think they can keep it until the end of this season. Hilal's new coach is yet to arrive, and taking into account the ACL is starting this week I think Hilal will drop even more points until it's too late to catch up with Ittihad. Yeah I was optimistic when I knew Aramco is the one in charge of this project. Maybe they hired another company for the stadium's maintenance? Either way it became unplayable now, and it can lead to serious injuries for the players. By the way have you checked Al Taawon's games? Strangely I think they play on the best football pitch in the league right now.
Ittihad can catch up with Ahli too if they are good in defence and dont loose there concentration. I tought this new player and Assiri would make up a good partnership but its not. We would have lost or Shoalah could managed with the a draw but we skimmed of the pressure. Also , the crowd is heavy in Ittihad games . This is adding up to the average which is good for the league and the players.
Favourable result for Ittihad this week . Orubah 0-1 Ittihad Khaleez 1-1 Nasser Fateh 1-1 Nasser Najran 0-2 Hilal The pointss gap have cut down drastically which is going to e excittment..
Incredible events at Ahli & Nassr's matches. Both teams got into the final 10 minutes losing 0-1, both teams missed a PK during that time, and both teams scored in +90 minute mark to get a draw. I guess the ACL matches and its pressure will make the league more entertaining this time.
Indeed it was incredible events and I lost fantasy points as both teams missed the penalties. Talking about the pressure , this thing can happen when clubs concentrate on two or three cups in the season and leave the dream about win it all specially when you have players and matches which pauses several times due to injuries . The clubs play all cards in all the matches they play and also fans also put a lot of pressure on the team to winn the titles. If I were the coach , I will make it clear to the managment , I will be targeting this many cups during the season and rest will be used to test the new or bench talent.
That's true, but for teams like Nassr (who have the best squad among Saudi teams IMO) it would be disappointing to give up on a double or even the triple. They made some rotations in the ACL, it didn't work out in the 1st game but I believe they have enough quality players to qualify. Ahli on the other hand are going through harder schedule (Crown Cup final, ACL qualifiers..). If their key players (Taiseer, O. Assomah, Hawsawi, Motaaz ) can sustain these coming weeks without getting injured then I can see them challenging Nassr until the end of the season. I just think they don't have Nassr's squad depth.
Nasser went the Hilal way to have deep squad and start winning the titles but still as usual they dont impress. For Ahli, yes these four players are taking Ahli along with them and hope they fight till the last day.
So Ahli , Nasser and Ittihad wins there important matches today. Hilal managed to skimp off as usual there last minute goals and start rejoicing as if they win the league. Shabab has lost the ground after the lost against Ahli. Its not between Hilal and Ittihad to take the third place. Ahli has a match to go against Najran and if they win can take the gap to 4 points and reduce from Nasser to five points.
A week before the mega two weeks has gone favourated to the big three.. Ahli , Nasser and Ittihad all win there respective encounters. Ahli meets Nasser in winner takes all clash. If Nasser wins they almost secure the league for second time in a row..Nasser will be facing Ahli , Ittihad and Hilal in there next three games which will take toll on the players due to pressure and fatigue. If Ahli wins, the gap is reduced to 2 points and for Ittihad 6 points if they win against Khaleej. Next game against Nasser will be a crucial one for Ittihad and Ahli. If Ittihad wins the gap reduces again to three points and if ahli wins against raed they take the summit. Nasser will take on Hilal after Ittihad which will be again a huge match for them . If Nasser scumps to pressure again then Ittihad might overtake them too and fight for league with Ahli.. Bring it onn
Ahli wins all important clash with Nasser with pulsating 4-3 victory. Ahli reduces gap to Nasser to two points and can take the lead if Nasser fails to beat Ittihad the next game in Jeddah.
Great result for the title challenging teams, and fantastic game of football. Ahli made an amateur-level mistake in Nassr's first goal, but to turn a 2-goals-lead for Nassr at their ground to 2-4 win? It takes some character to do that. Nassr's remaining games looks more difficult, it includes Ittihad (A), Hilal (A), and Shabab (H). This season could be the most exciting one in years.
I am not counting Shabab as tough task for them. They have lost there pride and form in the league . Now Waleed Abdullah also injured , I dont know how they are going to take on from here. Ittihad away will be the toughest one with the current form and also a litmus test for Piturca. He managed to win games against the weak teams in the league so far. This game will show have the team really settled down in his plan or not.
Shabab may not be at their best this season, but they have shown that they can be a frustrating team to play against (vs. Hilal in the 1st leg, and vs. Ittihad in Jeddah, and even away vs. Alain in ACL). Waleed Abdullah has been awful before his injury, so I don't think Shabab are weaker without him now. Their GK made a couple of good saves against Hilal, so let's see how evolves from there. The international break could be a bad news for Ittihad. These breaks usually do more damage than good for those teams who are in-form.
Who made this poll? ) joker Put only Al Hilal and Al Ittihad there? Al Ahli and Al Nasr where are? Al Hilal and Al Ittihad fight for 3rd place, which qualify them in ACL 2016 preliminary round. For the looser, last chance is to win Champions Cup
This is made with certain analysis. Fateh last time one the league which no one expected..So you cant expect which one to win this time. Ahli and Nasser both bought it new coaches which were not looking very promising. So it was evident I dont include them in poll. Secondly, we dont have Ahli and Nasser fans on this forum to make them vote for there favourite team..
the question was "Who will take it this time", so, must let an answer for reserve "other" or "other team" or "other club" doesnt matter how many fans have another teams here In football, nothing is 100% sure. So, your poll is wrong and not really next time can put some answers like : 1. Al Hilal 2. Al Ittihad 3. other team Even if you are fan of one of these clubs, must respect entire league
The club I hate most Al Hilal , I put them on polling. That is the far most respect I can show to any team..
)) yep, but anyway, must let a little space for surprises and by me.... in Saudi Arabia are 5 strongest clubs .... Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, Al Shabab and Al Nasr ... with definitely Al Hilal and Ittihad in top of this country
Nassr secures a big, late win over Ittihad with a 1-3 victory. Sanmartean was a joy to watch, but Ittihad just stopped playing in the 2nd half. That Piturca's picture says it all. BTW, Marquinho was injured when he was subsitiuted out, right? Otherwise it won't make sense to make this change in the 1st half.