We already know the champion and one of the relegated teams as round 32 of the Saudi Pro League has just concluded. Letโs recap the key events of the latest round of our favourite football league together!
๐. ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ก๐๐!
First and foremost: congratulations to the champions of the league, the Tigers! This is exactly the 10th time Al Ittihad conquered the trophy. We have to say that they truly deserved it as they never gave up and were the most consistent team during the entire season. The mentality of the team is clearly highlighted by the fact that they sealed victories in the stoppage time routinely โ just like what their arch-rival Al Hilal did a year ago.
Each transfer turned out to be good or outright excellent and credit should also go to Laurent Blanc, who motivated Benzema to get back to his best. His reward is a gold medal in his introductory season in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Well done!
๐. ๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐๐ญ๐๐ก โ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฅ ๐ โ ๐: ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐๐ก ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐ง?
A team recently reviving from the bottom of the table but still fighting for survival hosts another team desperately fighting for three points to keep up the pace in the title race. The outcome: one of the most epic encounters of the entire season. Stunning goals, turnarounds all over, late drama โ what else are you looking for? Please check the highlights if you missed this match. Spoiler alert: the Blue Waves did it all in vain and lost the title race, anyway.
๐. ๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐๐จ ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ?
Now that he is out injured, can Cristiano Ronaldo maintain his top position on the list of goalscorers? He is leading with 23 goals, while each of Benzema (Al Ittihad), Hamdallah (Al Shabab) and Toney (Al Ahli) are lurking behind him with 21 goals. If Cristiano gets back to full fitness before the end of the season then we wouldnโt bet against him. However, if he doesnโt then each of the aforementioned fine gentlemen have a reasonable chance to advance to the top of the chart.
๐. ๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ โ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จโ๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ฑ๐ญ?
A historic team has already relegated this season: Al Raed from Buraidah, who have been a member of the top division ever since 2008. Still a large number of teams are threatened to follow them downwards, however, Al Okhdood stands out of the crowd as they are 4 points away from safety. Be warned: donโt underestimate them as they are great survivors and maintained their top division status against all odds last year. Their fate is already out of their hands and a win against Al Raed is mandatory next round.
The situation isnโt rosy for Al Somah and co either, with Al Orobah being two points away from safety and they also have the worst goal difference of the league by a large margin. Their visit in Khobar next round will be a thrilling contest as Al Qadsiah is still fighting for the international qualification.
Long story short: if any of Al Okhdood and Al Orobah fail to win their next match then itโs highly likely that relegation is booked for them.
๐. ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ
Itโs fair to say that this wasnโt the season Al Fayha or Sakala himself were dreaming about but itโs finally about to be over with some consolation for both of them. After a terrible start to the season few would have bet on the survival of the Orange. However, a significant development in form during the second half of the season made it ever more evident that they are here to stay. This seems to be confirmed now thanks to their latest victory over Al Okhdood on home soil: Renzo Lรณpez took the lead in the second half, which was doubled by talismanic winger Fashion Sakala in the stoppage time. The Zambian legend still has a chance to get double figures this season, too โ we certainly back him to do that!
