Joao Pedro brings down Al-Shabab – Al-Ittihad newspaper

Riyadh (AFP)

Al-Taawoun regained its balance at the expense of its host Al-Shabab, when it turned a goal deficit at the end of the first half into a 2-1 victory at the end of the match, which took place at Al-Shabab Club Stadium in Riyadh, at the conclusion of the fifteenth round of the Saudi Football League.
Al-Shabab took the lead with a goal from Belgian Yannick Carrasco (33 from a penalty kick), and Al-Taawoun responded with goals from Brazilian Joao Pedro (55 and 62).
With this victory, Al-Taawoun raised its score to 28 points, in fifth place, while Al-Shabab remained at its previous score of 16 points, and fell to twelfth place.
The first half did not appear as expected, during which there were no dangerous opportunities for the goalscorers, until Al-Shabab got a penalty kick, which Carrasco successfully executed (33).
In the second half, Al-Taawoun was close to a draw, when the Dutchman Ashraf Al-Mahdiwi shot a strong ball that hit the post and then the goalkeeper, and made its way to the “50” corner.
Through a coordinated attack, Al-Taawoun succeeded in equalizing, when Brazilian João Pedro followed up on a cross and played it directly into the goal (55), and from a similar attack, Al-Taawoun added its second goal, when Pedro received a ball inside the area, prepared it for himself and sent it powerfully into the goal (62).
Al-Taawoun almost scored a third goal had it not been for the crossbar, which blocked the ball of Brazilian Andre Girotto and took its way off the field (69), and created an opportunity for Al-Shabab to equalize the score, but Hattan Bahbari’s strong ball changed its direction to the defender, and took its way to the corner (77), and Al-Shabab tried in the minutes to equalize. But his attempts were not successful.
Al-Raed achieved three important points when it defeated its guest Al-Wahda 2-0, in the match that brought them together at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Buraidah. Al-Raed’s two goals were scored by Moroccan Mohamed Fawzir (44 from a penalty kick) and Algerian Amir Saeed (68).
Al-Raed raised its score to 12 points in penultimate place, while Al-Wahda remained at its previous score of 19 points and fell to tenth place.
The first half was largely equal, before Al-Wahda completed the match with ten players, after the referee issued a red card to player Islam Hawsawi (27), after which Al-Raed took advantage of the numerical deficiency and won a penalty kick carried out by Moroccan Mohamed Fawzir, who played it strong to the right of his compatriot Mounir Al-Mohammadi. «44».
In the second half, with an attack, Al-Raed strengthened its lead with a second goal, when the Algerian Amir Saioud launched a ball and played it “take and give” with the Moroccan Karim Al-Barkawi, before putting it into the goal (68).