Al Qadsiah win blows RSL title race wide open | OneFootball

Roshn Saudi League leaders Al Hilal and nearest chasers Al Ittihad both suffered defeats on the road on Monday, at Al Qadsiah and Damac respectively, to throw another twist in the tale of the 2024-25 title race.

Saudi Arabia’s two continental champions have been going toe-to-toe at the top of the table, with only goal difference separating them going into the final matchweek of the first half of the season.

Al Ittihad travelled south to face Damac in a historically difficult fixture where the Jeddah side have never collected any points away in five previous attempts.

Their struggles continued in Matchweek 17 with Georges-Kevin N’Koudou maintaining his red-hot form since his arriving last year from Turkish side Besiktas. The Cameroonian struck either side of a Karim Benzema header; his second, a deflected shot off Saad Al Mousa in added time, secured the three points and a jump into 10th place for the Khamis Mushait men.

With the knowledge of their direct rivals dropping points earlier in the evening, Al Hilal took on the challenge at third-placed Al Qadsiah, who had failed to win only once in their past eight league outings. The defending champions had their work cut out in an instant, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang needing 65 seconds to poke home the opener following a corner-kick routine.

Al Hilal restored parity within five minutes of the second half thanks to Marcos Leonardo’s drilled effort and pushed on in pursuit of a winner to take full advantage of Al Ittihad’s defeat.

However, instead it was the hosts who snatched the winner late on after Julian Quinones set up Aubameyang, leaving the veteran to keep his composure to apply the finish past Yassine Bono in added time.

The combination of results mean Al Qadsiah are now within six points of both Al Hilal and Al Ittihad with half of the campaign remaining, adding the name of the newly promoted side into the mix of what could be one of the most exciting title races in the history of the RSL.