Al Ittihad opened a two-point lead in the Saudi Pro League after a 2-1 win over Al Taawoun.

 

Al Ittihad's cause was aided by Al Hilal SFC being held 2-2 by Damac on Saturday.

Al Ittihad, who moved up to 49 points from 19 matches, had Karim Benzema to thank for the points with the French striker netting the winner in the fifth minute of time added on at the end of the second half.

 

Abdulrahman Alobud had given Al Ittihad the lead in the 21st minute with Musa Barrow equalising in first half stoppage time.

Al Hilal looked on course for another win after Marcos Leonardo put them ahead in the 32nd minute.

 

Habib Diallo's brace (50th, 73rd) meant Al Hilal had to chase the game, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic salvaging a point with his 77th minute goal.

 

Al Nassr stayed third, moving up to 41 points, after a 3-0 win over AL Feiha with Jhon Duran scoring his first goals for the club in the 22nd and 72nd minutes with Cristiano Ronaldo adding the third in the 74th.

 

Al Qadisiyah kept pace with Al Nassr with a 2-0 win against Al Raed.

Goals from Karim Boudiaf (2nd) and Michael Olunga (56th) gave Al Duhail SC a 2-0 win over Al Wakrah as they moved up to 35 points.

Victory kept Al Duhail four points clear of Al Sadd SC and Al Gharafa SC, who both registered victories to stay in the title race.

 

Al Sadd edged Umm Sala 1-0 with Akram Afif scoring the only goal in the sixth minute.

 

Al Gharafa had to work harder, with Mohammed Muntari scoring the winner in the second minute of time added on against Al Shamal. Ferjani Sassi (60th) had earlier cancelled out Baghdad Bounedjah's 56th minute opener for Al Shamal.

Shabab Al Ahli took advantage of a shock defeat for Sharjah to open a four-point lead in the UAE Pro League.

Federico Cartabia (38th, penalty), Mateusao (42nd) and Guilherme Bala (44th) sealed the points in the first half with Ajman scoring a consolation through Rocky Marciano just before the final whistle.

 

Sharjah looked to be on course for victory against Al Ittihad Kalba through Caio Lucas' 82nd minute effort but a double by Mehdi Ghayedi (86th, 90+6) left them stunned. Al Ain took sole possession of third place with a much-needed 2-1 win over Al Bataeh.  

Shabab Al Ahli are on 41 points after 15 matches, with Sharjah four behind while Al Ain have 26.

Muharraq stayed two points clear at the top of the Bahraini Premier League after waltzing 3-0 past East Riffa on Sunday.

The victory took Muharraq to 23 points from 10 matches, with Khaldiya keeping pace after edging A'Ali 2-1.

 

Al Najma lost ground on the top two after being held to a goalless draw by Sitra, as they trail Muharraq by six points.

Zakho catapulted themselves to the top of the Iraq Stars League with an impressive 6-2 win against Al Qasim on Sunday.

 

The win moved Zakho to 38 points, two clear of Al Zawraa.

Al Zawraa, who went into their tie against Al Shorta as the leaders, had to settle for a goalless draw with the third-placed side.

 

Al Talaba failed to capitalise on Al Zawraa and Al Shorta dropping points after they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Naft Maysan.

 

Zakho moved up to 38 points, with Al Zawraa two behind and Al Shorta a further point adrift. Al Talaba stayed on 33 points.

Al Hussein and Al Wehdat played to a 0-0 draw in the return leg of the Jordan Super Cup, with Al Wehdat winning the title with a 3-1 aggregate triumph.

In Jordanian Pro League action, third-placed Al Ramtha failed to capitalise on Al Hussein and Al Wehdat not being in action as they settled for a goalless stalemate with Shabab Al Aqaba.

 

Al Hussein lead the standings with 31 points, with Al Wehdat five behind. Al Ramtha are on 19 points.

Kuwait SC showed their calibre in a 6-0 win against Al Yarmouk on Sunday as they moved two points clear at the top.

Al Arabi dropped to second after being held 0-0 by Khaitan in what is turning out to be a two-horse title race.

 

Kuwait SC are on 39 points, with Al Arabi two behind while Al Salmiya - who drew 2-2 with Al Fahaleel - are a distant third on 24 points.

Al Ansar, Safa and Al Ahed made it four wins out of four as they stayed perfect in the Lebanese Premier League.

Al Ansar, who lead the standings on goal difference, defeated Al Sahel 3-1.

 

Safa emphatically beat Bourj FC 4-0 while Al Ahed cruised 3-1 past Al Hikma.

Al Shabab edged Al Nasr 1-0 in the first leg of their Sultan Qaboos Cup semi-final on Thursday.

The other semi-final saw Al Seeb and Saham settling for a goalless draw.

 

The return legs will be played on Saturday with the final scheduled for February 20.