League hots up

THIS PAST WEEK, the Saudi Premier League witnessed two hot rounds. Shabab and Ahli, which finished first and second last year, had their match against each other on Friday.
It was a breathtaking match as both teams wanted to win so badly. The game ended a 2-2 draw. Shabab had an edge and even had a penalty shot before stoppage time but Nasser Alshahrani made it uneasy for Ahli's goalie to catch it.
Another strong match was Nasr against Ittihad. Ittihad showed more eagerness while Nasr played better. In the end, luck seemed to be in the side of Ittihad.
Hilal, on the other hand, gave its Eid gift to the already angry supporters and won 6-0 against Najran.
Although Hilal's playing style didn't change much, the players had some conscious effort to actually win.
In the first half, the team wasn't doing well but they finally started scoring by the second half and Najran fell.
But this win should not fool the team's management and get complacent, especially that the team couldn't hold on to win against Ittifaq last Monday, settling for a 1-1 draw.
There are still drastic changes that need to be done. They should be on their toes by Saturday during the match against Nasr before flying to Korea for the Asian Champions League quarterfinal against Ulsan
As for other matches in the league, a lot of middle class teams showed good form. They could actually supplant the ranks of the top teams, a matter not to be underestimated.

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Email: banderalhamad@yahoo.com