Al Ittifaq beats Abha 3-1

MAHALAH. Al Ittifaq conquers Abha 3-1.

By
Mark Hall
-
Al Ittifaq beats Abha 3-1

MAHALAH. Al Ittifaq conquers Abha 3-1. Al Ittifaq was just to good to grab a decisive 3-0 lead with Moussa Dembélé (58′), Robin Quaison (75′) and Hamed Alghamdi (82′). Abha reduced the distance with a penalty (90′ + 8′) by Karl Toko Ekambi, but there was not much to do for them. Al Ittifaq was much superior in terms of ball possession (62%) and that was among the factors of its victory.​

The match was played at the Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium stadium in Mahalah on Saturday and it started at 3:00 pm local time. The referee was Abdulrahman Al Sultan with the support of Moayad Al Musajjen and Mohammed Almatrodi. The 4th official was Raed Al Zahrani. The weather was light rain. The temperature was hot at 28.73 degrees Celsius or 83.71 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 19%.​

Match Statistics​

Team 1

Abha

1 - 3

Team 1

Al Ettifaq

  • ! 38 Ball Possession 62
Shots
  • 11 Total 9
  • 4 On Target 3
  • 4 Off Target 4
  • 3 Shots blocked 2
  • 64 Attack 94
  • 33 Dangerous attack 42
  • 75 Ball safe 83
  • 1 Penalties 0
  • 3 Corners 4
  • 1 Off Sides 3
Fouls
  • 5 Total 15
  • 2 Yellow Cards 1
  • 0 Double Yellow 0
  • 0 Red Card 0
Other
  • 6 Substitutions 5

Ball possession

Al Ittifaq was in firm control of the ball 62% while Abha was struggling with a 38% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Al Ittifaq was putting more pressure with 42 dangerous attacks and 9 shots of which 3 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Al Ittifaq won the match.​

Abha shot 11 times, 4 on target, 4 off target. Regarding the opposition, Al Ittifaq shot 9 times, 3 on target, 4 off target.

Cards

Abha received 2 yellow cards (François Kamano and Mohammed Naji). On the other side, Al Ittifaq received 1 yellow card (Hamdan Al-Shamrani).

Match Timeline

Mohammed Naji- Yellow
24'
François Kamano- Yellow
57'
56'
K. Toko-Ekambi- sub ->François Kamano
58'
M. Dembélé(goal)Jordan Henderson
63'
Hamdan Al Shamrani- Yellow
60'
M. Dembélé(VAR)
66'
Demarai Gray- sub ->Mohammed Al Kuwaykibi
75'
R. Quaison(goal)Demarai Gray
Hassan Al-Ali- sub ->Mohammed Naji
72'
Mohammed Al-Oufi- sub ->Saad Alselouli
73'
79'
Mohammed Abdulrahman- sub ->Radhi Al Otaibi
82'
79'
Meshal Al-Mutairi- sub ->Abdulelah Alshamary
83'
86'
Meshal Al Alaeli- sub ->Hamdan Al-Shamrani
86'
Mohammed Al-Kunaydiri- sub ->François Kamano
83'
90'
K. Toko-Ekambi(penalty)

Standings

Standings
Team
Pts
Pl
Last 5
Al Hilal
89
31
Al Nassr
77
31
Al Ahli
58
31
Al Taawoun
52
31
Al Ittihad
50
31
Al Ettifaq
44
31
Al Fateh
42
31
Al Feiha
42
31
Al Shabab
41
31
Damac
39
31
Al Khaleej
36
31
Al-Wehda
35
31
Al Raed
32
31
Al Riyadh
30
31
Abha
29
31
Al Akhdoud
28
31
Al Tai
28
31
Al Hazm
20
31

After this match, Abha will stay with 6 points like Al Feiha to hold in the 11th place. On the opposite side, Al Ittifaq will have 13 points like Al Taawon to hold in the 5th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the Pro League, Abha will play away with Al Ahli Jeddah on the 15th of May with a 4-2 head to head in favor of Al Ahli Jeddah (4 draws).

Al Ittifaq will host Al Wahda on the 24th of April with a 11-9 head to head statistic in favor of Al Ittifaq (4 draws).

Abha – Formation

Abha
G
Ciprian Tătărușanu 16.Romania
6.0
D
Mohammed Naji 3.Saudi Arabia
7.1
72' 24'
D
Ahmad Al-Hbeab 6.Saudi Arabia
6.1
D
Saleh Al-Qumayzi 17.Saudi Arabia
6.3
D
Fabián Noguera 18.Argentina
6.7
M
Grzegorz Krychowiak 5.Poland
7.0
M
Uros Matic 8.Serbia
7.0
M
François Kamano 11.Guinea
6.8
83' 57'
M
Saad Al-Salouli 88.Saudi Arabia
6.4
73'
F
Ahmad Jaber 71.Saudi Arabia
6.6
F
Abdulelah Al-Shammeri 80.Saudi Arabia
6.7
83'
Substitutes
G
Abdulrahman Al-Bouq 12.Saudi Arabia
D
Mohammed Al-Kunaydiri 13.Saudi Arabia
6.7
83'
D
Mohammed Al-Oufi 24.Saudi Arabia
6.4
73'
D
Ziyad Al-Sahafi 30.Saudi Arabia
M
Fahad Mohammed Al-Jumaiya 14.Saudi Arabia
M
Meshal Al-Mutairi 77.Saudi Arabia
7.1
83'
F
K. Toko-Ekambi 7.Cameroon
7.3
56' Goals90'
F
Hassan Al-Ali 9.Saudi Arabia
6.0
72'
F
Omar Al Ruwaili 90.Saudi Arabia

Abha started with a conservative line-up (4-4-2).

The manager Roel Coumans decided to play with the following team: Ciprian Tătărușanu (6.0), Saleh Al Qumayzi (6.3), Fabián Noguera (6.7), Ahmad Al Hbeab (6.1), Mohammed Naji (7.1), Saad Alselouli (6.4), Uroš Matić (7.0), Grzegorz Krychowiak (7.0), François Kamano (6.8), Ahmad Jaber (6.6) and Abdulelah Alshamary (6.7).

The home team had on the bench: Karl Toko Ekambi (7.3), Hassan Al-Ali (6.0), Abdulrahman Al Bouq, Mohammed Al-Konaideri (6.7), Fahad Bin Jumayah, Mohammed Al Oufi (6.4), Ziyad Al-Sahafi, Meshal Ibrahim Al Mutairi (7.1) and Omar Al-Ruwaili.

Substitutions

Abha made 4 changes: François Kamano for Karl Toko Ekambi (56′), Mohammed Naji for Hassan Al-Ali (72′), Saad Alselouli for Mohammed Al Oufi (73′) and François Kamano for Mohammed Al-Konaideri (83′).

Best player: Karl Toko Ekambi​

Following our analysis, the most impressive player for Abha was Karl Toko Ekambi.

His rating is (7.3) with 1 goal, 13 passes (46% accurate) and 0 key passes. He was won 1 duel out of 2.

His performance was remarkable also because he started the match from the bench before entering the filed in the 56′.

Al Ittifaq – Formation

Al Ettifaq
G
Paulo Victor 48.Brazil
7.1
D
J. Hendry 4.Scotland
7.5
D
Hamdan Al Shamrani 13.Saudi Arabia
7.1
86' 63'
D
Radhi Al Otaibi 61.Saudi Arabia
7.0
79'
D
Abdullah Khateeb 70.Saudi Arabia
6.7
M
Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi 7.Saudi Arabia
7.0
66'
M
Jordan Henderson 10.England
7.7
M
Ali Abdullah Hazzazi 11.Saudi Arabia
7.1
M
Georginio Wijnaldum 25.Netherlands
6.8
86'
F
M. Dembélé 9.France
7.8
79' Goals58'
F
R. Quaison 99.Sweden
7.7
Goals75'
Substitutes
G
Amin Al Bukhari 21.Saudi Arabia
D
Mohammed Al Dosari 3.Saudi Arabia
D
Meshal Al Alaeli 17.Saudi Arabia
6.1
86'
D
Mohammed Abdulrahman 29.Saudi Arabia
6.4
79'
M
Hamed Al Ghamdi 8.Saudi Arabia
7.5
79' Goals82'
M
Mohammed Mahzari 18.Saudi Arabia
6.4
86'
M
Muhannad Al Saad 30.Saudi Arabia
M
Abdullah Al Dossary 35.Saudi Arabia
F
Demarai Gray 19.Jamaica
7.5
66'

Al Ittifaq started with a aggressive line-up (4-3-3).

Steven Gerrard played with: Paulo Victor (7.1), Radhi Al Otaibi (7.0), Jack Hendry (7.5), Abdullah Khateeb (6.7), Hamdan Al-Shamrani (7.1), Georginio Wijnaldum (6.8), Jordan Henderson (7.7), Ali Abdullah Hazzazi (7.1), Mohammed Al Kuwaykibi (7.0), Moussa Dembélé (7.8) and Robin Quaison (7.7).

These were the players on the bench: Mohammed Al Dawsari, Hamed Alghamdi (7.5), Meshal Alaeli (6.1), Mohammed Mater Mahzari (6.4), Demarai Gray (7.5), Amin Al-Bukhari, Mohammed Abdulrahamn Yousef (6.4), Muhannad Yahya Saeed Al Saad and Abdullah Khalifa Nasser Al Dosari.

Substitutions

Al Ittifaq made 5 changes: Mohammed Al Kuwaykibi for Demarai Gray (66′), Moussa Dembélé for Hamed Alghamdi (79′), Hamdan Al-Shamrani for Meshal Alaeli (86′), Radhi Al Otaibi for Mohammed Abdulrahamn Yousef (79′) and Georginio Wijnaldum for Mohammed Mater Mahzari (86′).

Best player: Moussa Dembélé​

The player that probably impressed the most for Al Ittifaq was Moussa Dembélé.

His rating is (7.8) with 1 goal, 21 passes (76% accurate) and 1 key pass. He was won 3 duels out of 5.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the Pro League.​