Pitso Mosimane’s title hopes with Al Ahli suffered a huge blow following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Al Arabi at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium on Tuesday night.
Ahli went into the encounter with a three-point advantage and had an opportunity to extend the lead at the top to a six-point gap ahead of second-placed Al Akhdoud.
The Royal started the game on a front foot and scored in the 21st minute through Modou Barrow’s close-range strike following some good passage of play.
Mosimane’s side were reduced to 10 men after Mohammed Al Rubaie was shown a straight red card at the stroke of half-time after he brought down a player inside the box.
The visitors made no mistake when Ablaye Mbengue converted a penalty to level the score going into half-time.
Arabi kept on knocking on the door and eventually used their numerical advantage when they got the winner in the 76th minute, handing Mosimane his third defeat since joining Ahli in September 2022.
Despite the result leaving a dent in their efforts to lift the Saudi First Division League title, Ahli remain on top of the log and will only hope Akhdoud drop points in their four remaining matches.
Mosimane and his troops return to action on Wednesday next week when they visit bottom-of-the-log Al Shoulla.
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