Al-Ittihad continues its steady march towards the Saudi League title
Al-Ittihad moved one step closer to winning the Saudi Professional League title after defeating Al-Fayhaa 3-0 on Sunday in the 31st round at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.
French striker Karim Benzema scored for Al-Ittihad (24 and 54) and Mohammed Al-Baqawi scored an own goal (75).
Al-Ittihad’s points lead rose to 74, while Al-Fayhaa remained at 33 in 14th place.
Al-Ittihad now needs one more win to win the league title for the ninth time in its history, with three rounds remaining, or a loss for its runner-up, Al-Hilal (65 points), against Al-Oruba on Monday.
Al-Ittihad achieved its fourth consecutive victory before meeting Al-Raed, who finished last in the standings and were officially relegated, in the 32nd round.
Benzema continued his brilliance with Al-Ittihad this season, scoring his 21st goal, placing him third on the scorers’ list. Benzema scored the first goal after a superb pass from Spaniard Unai Hernandez, which the former French international met with a powerful shot into Al-Fayha’s net after dribbling past several players (24). Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic excelled, preventing Al-Fayha from equalizing after a shot from Uruguayan Renzo Lopez (45+2).
