Al-Hilal’s fading Roshn Saudi League title hopes dim further

Al-Hilal’s hopes of retaining their Roshn Saudi League title took another massive hit on Monday night when they drew 2-2 with Al-Tai at Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.

Congolese forward Guy Mbenza opened the scoring for Al-Tai in the 25th minute, and the lead was doubled 10 minutes later through the Algerian Amir Sayoud.

The reigning champions came back strongly in the second half with Saudi international Saleh Al-Shehri halving the deficit on 57 minutes and Brazilian forward Michael Delgado equalizing in the 72nd minute.

Al-Hilal, however, could not find the winner that would reignite their fading title hopes.

With only seven matches left, the Riyadh giants now sit in fourth place with 46 points, 10 behind leaders Al-Ittihad and seven behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nasser.

Al-Hilal had been dealt a major blow on Friday when they were beaten 3-0 by third-place Al-Shabab in the Riyadh derby, and following their dropped points against Al-Tai, will find it hard to replicate the late-season recovery that resulted in the championship win last time round.