No, I don't think so. It'll hurt a lot as Ahli is in a worse form now, but the CPC is considered less important than other tournaments in which the team is doing quite well (topping the league, qualifying for the next round in King's Cup, and it's yet to play in CL). I think the same goes for Gross, but we will see what happens in the summer after we know how both finish the season.
Hamza Idrees' missed plenty still stinks. I think that was probably the best group of players Saudi NT had in the last 15 years.
So 9 games to play for - Battle draws to 3 teams now with Ittihad , Hilal and Ahli all to play for . Hilal have 5 home games and 4 away games. Hilal most tricky home game will be now against Ittihad and Nasser and for that matter Shabab too. For away only Ahli seems to be tricky option and I might say add Najran for them to score already 8 goals since Helios have taken in 4 games over compared to 11 goals scored in there previous outings. They can add some spice to the league . There new brazilian signings are monstrous. Ittihad have 4 Home games and 3+1 away games. The game against Ahli can be treated as home/away. Ittihad most tricky home games will be Nasser. For away , they have Hilal, Shabab, Ahli and Tawoon. Ahli have 5 home games and 4 away games. Ahli will have all tricky home meetings against Najran, Ittihad, Shabab and Hilal and no big games outside home. So the most toughest scenario will be for Ittihad for all they have sneak through lots of big away teams. I think, the match against Hilal will decide how the things will fold on. As for Hilal, they gain slight advantage over other too, with Ittihad and Ahli can be there toughest matches. As for Ahli if they dont slip against any of the teams then the ball is in there court
Big day for Saudi league. Tawoon, Ahli and Hilal loose on matchday. I said before Najran will be tricky team under Helios and they did it after handing Ahli first league defeat after 51 games. Ittihad beats Hilal with Ziads one of the goal of the season strike. Tawoon looses ground to top 3 with defeat against Khaleej at home.
3 title contending teams on 1 point difference with just 8 rounds before the final matchday? I don't think we've ever seen that since the Pro league started. We have ACL this week so anything can happen after that, Hilal extending their lead, Ittihad becoming the leaders, Ahli take their chance for once, or Taawon joining the top 3. Well done to Najran, Their results under the new manager and signings surprised me. Shabab are doing quite well too, I think they will eventually snatch the 4th position from Taawon.
Yeah what a sad way to end his career. I was a bit happy when he came back to Ittihad as I want him to end his career in a proper way and retire either at Itti or Alwehda, but I never thought in a million years it'll be like this.
Ittihad and Hilal loose important points against Fateh and Qadsiyah. Ahli goes back to the top after winning Shabab 3-1. Still games to play but I think Ittihad has lost the opportunity to gain a good advantage after draws against Qadsiya and Fateh that too at home
Hilal still have to play Nassr and Ahli. I'll say they made their position far worse than what it should be. Anyway the difference between the top 3 is only 1 point and all the teams are still actively playing in ACL (which as we've seen affect these teams), so everything is possible.
Hilal VS Nasser today which I think is an important clash for Hilal. Nasser looks different under Caneda which means we can see some fight from them . Ittihad vs Wehda should not be a headache for Ittihad. Qadsiya can give tough fight to Ahli if they try to play what they did against Hilal.
That looks like a fixture that can shape the league. Hilal vs. Nassr, Ahli vs. Quadisiyah who managed to stop both Hilal and Ittihad within a few weeks, Taawon the 4th plays against Shabab the 5th who are behind them by just 2 points. This is the last league game before the international break which usually affect almost every team's form, so every point counts. Hilal secured an important win considering the current form, injuries, and latest results.. I'm not that convinced by Hilal's performance which was only a repeat of the previous bad games and never looked comfortable until the goals came which opened up the game for the 2nd half chances. Nassr showed some good signs in some parts of the game but they aren't at their last season's level yet. It's weird, their starting lineup and bench are one of the (if not THE) best in the league, I still don't know why that isn't shown on the pitch. Adrian and Yehya should be carrying the team in these games, but I don't think that can be said about any player who played yesterday beside Aljebreen, and probably Abdulghani & the CBs.
I came back to give a visual representation of my state of mind for Al Wehda beating Ittihad in Jeddah and screwing up the Jeddawis title bid:
Overall a bad day for Ittihad. Piturca must stop pointing fingers at fatigue issues and starting putting players at right time. Sending Abdul Rahman Ghamdi to play with the olympic team when you know your top striker is injured and cant't play and your third choice striker (Salman Sobyani) has not played since ages , it got back fired. We got lot of players injured or suspended which was another factor. Still a game to go with Ahli, which in my case will be the deciding factor where the league will go.. @burning_phoneix - Go back to sleep untill next Wehda wins again against Ittihad
I don't need to. I expect Wehda to now build on this and qualify for the Champions league and go into next season as title contenders .
So Ahli ends Ittihads dream of catching close glimpse of title with 4-2 win over Ittihad. Hilal maintains routine win over Khaleej 3-0 and Tawoon over done by Nasser 3-2.
I watched only 10 minutes or so of the game thanks to the idiocy in scheduling the game at the same time as Barca vs. R.Madrid. Anyway from these early minutes Ittihad's right side seemed too vulnerable as the whole defense this season but I don't know if that what cost them the game, but the results may suggest that. Anyway what's up with Ittihad's board official statement? Who are the players who refused to join the team in the preparation for the derby? And why the board would throw the players under the bus like that? This is a ridiculously cheap attempt to run away from taking any responsibility and to shift the fans' anger toward the players, even if the players are 100% at fault here.
I am in same boat with you..This is the first time after a very very long time I did not watch even a single second of derby. Anyways, the problem was with the international players who were dead tired and the coach refused to grant them rest. The players refused to join the team and it was chaos before the derby..
Ahli tightens the grip in league after winning against Faysaly 2-1 while Hilal looses ground after tough draw against Shabab 1-1. Ittihad finally wins convincingly over Khaleej 4-1 to maintain the run.
Every one so busy with Professional league, no one noticed we have exciting last match day for First division. Ittifaq, Mojzel and Baten all to fight for the last match day..
I want Ittifaq to be back in top division again, I'm interested in following them under the new management, but I don't know enough about the 2 remaining 2 clubs to prefer one of them. I think there will be a game between the 12th from top division and the 3rd from the first division to decide which team will play in top division next season, or was that just an idea?
For me I want Baten to come in just to see some new stadium in KSA. Tired of watching the regular ones for now.