'We're still fighting' - Mendy on Al Ahli title bid as Al Hilal drop points

'We're still fighting' - Mendy on Al Ahli title bid as Al Hilal drop points Challenged the previous night by Cristiano Ronaldo and Co to keep up with Al Nassr, Al Ahli promptly obliged. The Jeddah giants returned to Roshn Saudi League action on Saturday night with a comprehensive 3-0 victory at home to Damac, the current Asian champions maintaining their quest to reign supreme in Saudi Arabi a, too. The win, set in motion by Dhari Al Anazi’s 3rd-minute own goal and golden-boot frontrunner Ivan Toney’s 26th goal of the RSL season three minutes later, keeps Al Ahli third, but drew them level with second-placed Al Hilal and five points off leaders Al Nassr.

Ronaldo marked his 100th RSL appearance with a double on Friday in Al Nassr’s 5-2 win against bottom club Al Najmah while, 24 hours later, Al Hilal were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Al Taawoun. So, with seven rounds remaining, Al Ahli have at least eliminated the gap to second. And, thanks to getting back to winning ways following a crushingly late defeat to title rivals Al Qadsiah last time out , a first top-flight crown in a decade remains in sight.

Speaking after Saturday’s 3-0 triumph, Al Ahli captain Edouard Mendy said: “It was a very important game after the [FIFA international] break. “Now it's the final sprint, so we knew we had to take the points because we dropped some in Al Qadsiah for the first time for a while. So we knew that today was very important for the three points.

“You can see the way we started was very good with a lot of intensity, a lot of good combinations with the ball. Also without the ball, we pressed them high. We dominated the whole game.