Al-Ahli in relegation battle after coach Besnik Hasi is sacked following defeat to Al-Ettifaq

Al-Ahli lost 1-0 to Al-Ettifaq on Friday evening, a result that leaves the three-time champions in real relegation trouble and without a coach following the subsequent dismissal of Besnik Hasi. The new man, reported in South America to be Uruguayan boss Robert Siboldi, does not have much time to steer the Jeddah giants to safety. With seven games left, they are just three points above the trapdoor and others below have games in hand.

It means that Al-Ahli became the 12th out of the 16 clubs in the Saudi Professional League to make a coaching change this season (Al-Shabab, Damac, Abha and Al-Feiha are the only ones to still have the same man in place) but unlike some of the other decisions, there can be few complaints or eyebrows raised about this one.

The Albanian had been under threat for some time following disappointing results for much of the season, and his 22 percent win ratio is the lowest of any coach in Al-Ahli’s history. There were calls as early as September for the boss to be fired. That was when the club didn’t win any of their first seven games, collecting just five points. Many others in the league have been fired for much less. 

The team was too reliant on Omar Al-Somah for goals, which was a problem as the Syrian striker has struggled to match the form of past seasons and even if he hadn’t, he still needed more support in attack. Mistakes and lapses of concentration at the back also proved costly.

The decision to keep faith with Hasi seemed to have been the right one earlier in the season, however, as there were improvements as soon as 2022 dawned. On the first day of the new year, Al-Ahli came back from two goals down against high-flying Al-Shabab to take a 3-2 lead. The visitors may have won the