Al-Ittihad of Jeddah took another significant step toward clinching the Saudi Pro League title after defeating visitors Al-Fayha 3\u20130 in a Matchday 31 fixture held at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah.<\/p>
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The goals for Al-Ittihad were scored by French star Karim Benzema (24\u2019, 54\u2019) and Mohammed Al-Baqaawi, who netted an own goal (75\u2019). The Jeddah-based club raised their tally to 74 points at the top of the league standings, while Al-Fayha remained on 33 points in 14th place.<\/p>
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Al-Ittihad now needs just one more win to secure the league title for the ninth time in their history, with three rounds remaining in the competition. Alternatively, they could be crowned champions if second-placed Al-Hilal (65 points) lose to Al-Orobah on Monday.<\/p>
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This marks Al-Ittihad\u2019s fourth consecutive victory, and the streak looks set to continue as they prepare to face bottom-placed Al-Raed, who were officially relegated to the lower division last round.<\/p>
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The victory was driven by Benzema, who continued his stellar season, bringing his tally to 21 goals and climbing to third in the league\u2019s top scorers chart.<\/p>
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Benzema opened the scoring after a brilliant assist from Spaniard Unai Hern\u00e1ndez, taking on multiple defenders before firing a powerful shot past Al-Fayha\u2019s goalkeeper (24\u2019).<\/p>
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Serbian goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovi\u0107 came up big to deny Uruguayan Renzo L\u00f3pez an equalizer with a fine save just before halftime (45+2). Al-Ittihad then doubled their lead through Benzema, who finished a slick passing exchange with Abdulrahman Al-Aboud by unleashing another powerful shot (54\u2019).<\/p>
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The third goal came when Mohammed Al-Baqaawi inadvertently turned a cross from Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti into his own net (75\u2019).<\/p>
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In other matches Al-Shabab picked up a solid win over Al-Ahli with goals from Mohammed Al-Thani (26\u2019) and a brace by Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah (33\u2019, 65\u2019). Al-Ahli\u2019s only goal came from Spaniard Gabri Veiga (36\u2019).<\/p>
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With the victory, Al-Shabab moved up to 54 points in sixth place, while Al-Ahli stayed on 61 points in fourth.<\/p>
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Al-Qadsiah narrowly edged hosts Al-Taawoun thanks to a 61st-minute own goal by Brazilian Andr\u00e9 Girotto.<\/p>
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The win lifted Al-Qadsiah to 62 points, placing them third\u2014three behind Al-Hilal and one above Al-Ahli. Al-Taawoun remained in eighth place with 41 points.<\/p>
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Damac secured a 1\u20130 victory over already-relegated Al-Raed through a goal from Mishari Al-Nimr (74\u2019). Damac climbed to 34 points in tenth place, while Al-Raed stayed bottom with 21 points.<\/p>","continue_text":"Continue Reading","main_heading":"Blog"},"yoast_head":"\n