Al Ittihad remain in control of their destiny in the Saudi Pro League and King's Cup following the past week's action.

 

Al Ittihad defeated Al Shabab 3-2 in their King's Cup semi-final on Tuesday and will face Al Qadisiyah, who beat Al Raed 1-0 in their last four tie, in the final.

Al Ittihad followed that up with a 2-2 draw with Al Ahli Saudi FC on Saturday, with Karim Benzema's strike four minutes into stoppage time salvaging a crucial point.

 

Roger Ibanez put Al Ahli Saudi ahead in the 51st minute with Moussa Diaby equalising in the 74th minute.

 

Ivan Toney thought he had sealed the points for Al Ahli Saudi but Benzema netted a dramatic equaliser as Al Ittihad moved up to 62 points, five ahead of Al Hilal.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice as Al Nassr dealt Al Hilal's title hopes a blow with a 3-1 win in the Riyadh Derby on Friday.

 

Ali Hassan scored the opener in first half stoppage time with Ronaldo doubling the advantage two minutes into the restart.

 

Ali Albulayhi pulled one back for Al Hilal in the 62nd but Ronaldo sealed the points with an 88th minute penalty, taking his Saudi Pro League tally to 21 goals.

 

The win took Al Nassr to within three points of Al Hilal while Al Qadisiyah lost ground on third place after a 1-1 draw with Al Ettifaq.

Defending champions Al Sadd overtook long-time leaders Al Duhail after they came from behind to defeat Al Rayyan 2-1.

 

Al Duhail’s title hopes suffered a major blow following a 4-0 defeat to Al Shamal as Al Sadd moved two points clear at the top with two rounds remaining. Al Sadd will face Al Khor and Al Ahli, while Al Duhail will meet Al Arabi and Al Khor in their final two fixtures.

Al Sadd went into their tie knowing victory would move them top but it was Al Rayyan who took the lead in the 56th minute through Adam Bareiro, lobbing over Meshaal Barsham from close range after the goalkeeper failed to hold on to Roger Guedes’ initial attempt.

 

Al Sadd responded with goals in the 67th and 69th minutes. Rafa Mujica equalised with a header from a Paulo Otavio cross, which had been set up by Akram Afif with a backheel. Just three minutes after replacing Hassan Al Haydos, Giovani Henrique scored the winner, diving to meet a cross from Pedro Miguel.

Al Shamal's Mohamed Rafik Omar stole the show with a brace, leading his side to a dominant 4-0 win over Al Duhail in a free-flowing encounter.

 

The Algerian forward put Al Shamal ahead in the second minute with a volley from a Younes Belhanda assist on the right and doubled their lead just six minutes later after Mohammad Naceur Al Mannai headed home from a tight angle past goalkeeper Salah Zakaria.

 

Al Shamal extended their lead in the sixth minute of first half stoppage time when Younes El Hannach’s low drive from outside the box took a deflection off Homam Al Amin, wrong-footing Zakaria and settling in the back of the net.

 

Omar sealed the win shortly after the break, collecting a pass outside the box and slotting it home from the centre to leave Al Duhail's title hopes hanging by a thread.

 

Al Gharafa tightened their grip on third place with a 3-1 win against Al Arabi, moving to 40 points - staying five ahead of Al Ahli who defeated Al Shahania 3-2.

Al Wahda's hopes of catching the top two suffered a setback after they were held 2-2 by Al Nasr.

The result moved Al Wahda to 35 points, six behind Sharjah FC and 13 adrift of Shabab Al Ahli.

 

Sbabab Al Ahli will be in action against Al Ain later on Monday while Sharjah will face Saudi Arabia's Al Taawoun FC in the first leg of their AFC Champions League Two 2024/25 the following day.

Muharraq Club widened their advantage at the top of the Bahraini Premier League with a 3-0 win against Malkiya.

 

After a tight first half, Husain Abdulkarim opened their scoring in the 56th minute with Amine Benaddi doubling their advantage in the 70th.

Waleed Al Hayam confirmed the victory with his 77th minute effort as Muharraq moved to 32 points, three clear of defending champions Al Khalidiya.

 

Al Khalidiya had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Al Riffa, who dropped to fourth. Sitra defeated Manama 3-0 to move into third on 22 points, one ahead of Al Riffa. 

Zakho retook the Iraq Stars League top spot following a 2-0 win against defending champions Al Shorta on Saturday.

 

Echeta Ugonna Deputy opened the scoring in the 21st minute with Amjad Attwan adding the second deep into second half stoppage time as Zakho regained top spot on goal difference.

Their cause was aided by Al Zawraa suffering a 2-1 defeat to Duhok, with the result leaving them on 52 points.

 

Al Shorta remained in third place on 50 points while Air Force SC - who edged Naft Al basra 2-1 - are fourth with 44 points.

Al Hussein had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Al Faisaly but remained six points clear in the Jordanian Pro League.

Al Wehdat SC failed capitalise on the leaders dropping points after also settling for a 1-1 stalemate with Shabab Al Ordon, moving up to 36 points.

 

Third-placed Al Ramtha also played to a 1-1 stalemate with Ma'an.

Amr Abdel-Fattah struck twice as Kuwait SC moved four points clear at the top of the Kuwait Premier League after a 3-0 win against Al Tadhamon.

Mohamed Marhoon netted the opener in the 24th minute with Abdel-Fattah striking in the 52nd and 56th minutes to seal the emphatic win for the defending champions.

 

Kuwait SC moved up to 50 points, with Al Arabi losing ground after being held 1-1 by Al Fahaleel.

 

Al Qadsia are a distant third on 35 points following a 4-2 defeat against Al Salmiya.

Al Seeb Club stayed two points ahead in the Oman Pro League after a 5-1 win against Saham on Sunday.

The result took them to 41 points, two ahead of Al Nahda who defeated Al Kharooba 4-0.

Oman Club are a distant third on 29 points following a 1-0 defeat to Sur Club.