Down to the wire: 5 things we learned from penultimate round of Saudi Pro League action

The Saudi Pro League title race is going down to the last day, and so is the relegation battle, as the conclusion of the 2021-22 season now becomes one of the most exciting in recent times.

The penultimate round of action took place on Thursday and it was epic as both Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad won their matches. Here are five things we learned from the action across the Kingdom.

1. Super Al-Dawsari puts Al-Hilal on the brink

Al-Hilal defeated Al-Fateh 3-0 and now know that a win in the final game will bring them the title. Salem Al-Dawsari scored twice in the first half to ensure that there was not going to be a surprise result. The 30-year-old is a scorer of spectacular goals — his strike against Al-Ittihad in the previous game was a thing of beauty — but that was not the case on Thursday. His first came from a scramble a meter from the goalline as a host of players tried to bundle the ball in the net or clear it. His second came from not much further out.

He won’t mind. This was all about the result and ensuring that the defending champions have their title fate in their hands. This was potentially a tricky game but Al-Hilal showed why they are a winning machine. They were two goals ahead by half-time and there was no way that Al-Fateh were going to come back. Al-Ittihad are waiting for their rivals to slip but they never came close to doing so with the likes of Al-Dawsari enjoying the race. Few expect they will let the trophy fall out of their hands against Al-Faisaly on Monday.

2. Al-Ittihad show fight to stay in the race

The long-time leaders fell off their perch at the top but stay in the race with a 3-1 come-from-behind win against Ettifaq. After 29 games, the top two teams are level on points, but Al-Hilal