Khaled Obaid: Al Jazeera is the biggest "loser"

«Round 19». Features of a bilateral conflict between Shabab Alahli and Al Ain

Shabab Alahli did not lose in the last 7 rounds. He won 5 and drew twice. Cinematographer: Eric Arazas

The bilateral tussle for the ADNOC Pro League Shield began to become clearer after round 19, as it became clear that the two most prominent teams so far in the competition are: leaders Shabab Al Ahli and runners-up Al Ain. The round saw one notable change, and Al Ain came back strongly to put pressure on the leader. He moved up to runners-up after being third on matchday 18. On the other hand, Shabab Al-Ahli presented a real face for a team that wants to compete for the title and regain the league title that has been absent from it for years, and achieved an exciting victory over Al-Jazira in the latter's stadium, and showed the character of the champion in turning a two-goal deficit into a victory for three, based on a distinguished coach, Portuguese Jardim, who succeeded in creating a great combination, as the team is characterized by collective play and stability in the level.

Al Ain's return to the runners-up spot, two points ahead of Shabab Al Ahli, may contribute to defining the features of a bilateral struggle between two teams that are considered the most crowned league titles, and the most experienced in dealing with the championship.

Sharjah and Al Jazira are the two teams in the tournament that have not achieved what is required in the league so far, despite having all the ingredients to compete for the title, but they are currently seven and eight points away from the leaders, which is strange for both teams. On the other hand, Al Nasr began to save its season and escaped a little from the danger of relegation by beating Bani Yas after achieving a difficult victory, while the draw between Khorfakkan and Ajman was fair after Khorfakkan dominated the first half and Ajman returned in the second half.

As for the path of relegation, it has become clearer with Al Dhafra and Dibba, after the widening of the difference between them and the rest of the other teams, and the remaining matches for them, which are only seven rounds, may not help them save the difficult situation.

And monitored «Emirates Today» a question about Shabab Al Ahli and the secret of his strength in the tournament, a question on the newspaper's account in «Twitter»: «Share our opinion.. What is the secret behind Shabab Al Ahli's strength and its close to winning the ADNOC Professional League title, given its strong performances in recent matches? Four answers were identified: Coach Jardim, Administrative Work, Citizen Players, and Team Play.

The public chose Shabab Al Ahli coach Jardim with 41.9%, followed by team play second with 38.7%, administrative work with 12.9%, and finally national players with 6.5%.

Technical analyst Khaled Obaid confirmed that Shabab Al-Ahli served himself and returned in the second half, while Al-Jazira was the biggest loser in the 19th round, which did not witness any change in front, thanks to Shabab Al-Ahli's strong desire to get the title.

He told Emirates Today: "Al Ain returned strongly and the defending champions succeeded in announcing themselves strongly in order to maintain their title", on the other hand, Al Wasl succeeded in exploiting the mistakes of Sharjah, which was the best at times, but Al Wasl had the desire to achieve the equalizing goal, and Al Jazira team remains a puzzle in the league and without a fixed level.

He added: «The middle and bottom teams, did not witness any new or modification in the standings, and the only team benefiting from the struggle to escape the danger of relegation is the victory, which succeeded in moving away from the danger of the bottom, taking advantage of its victory over Bani Yas and the stumbling of the rest of the teams, whether a draw or loss».

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