Carrasco to Asharq Al-Awsat: Al-Shabab is ready to fight

Sultan Al-Issa, the Riyadh defender, expressed his dissatisfaction with the result of his team’s match against Al-Fayhaa 1-1 in the eighth round of the Saudi Professional League competitions.

Al-Issa said to Asharq Al-Awsat: Certainly an unsatisfactory result for us. We took control of the match and threatened Al-Fayhaa’s goal on more than one opportunity, and we were the best during the course of the match.

He added in his speech: Our thoughts before the match focused on coming out with a positive result and returning to Riyadh with winning points, but thank God in any case. Al-Issa said that the eleventh place “is not our ambition.” Regarding the upcoming match against the leaders Al-Hilal, he said: The technical staff will work to prepare for the important and difficult match against the leaders of the Saudi League.

After suffering for seven rounds, Al-Shabab finally succeeded in snatching its first victory in the Saudi Professional League, at the expense of its guest, Al-Taawoun, 3-0, in a match that brought them together in Riyadh, specifically at the SHG Arena.

Al-Shabab, which was absent from Hammam Al-Hammami, the best player in “Gulf 27”, due to injury, raised its score to seven points from eight matches in position 12.

Abdullah Maatouk gave Al-Shabab the lead with a shot from close range in the 18th minute, before the home side suffered a blow by sending off defender Ali Al-Bulaihi. Al-Bulaihi was sent off after obstructing Mohammed Al-Kuwaikbi before the penalty area line in the 33rd minute, following a review by the video assistant referee. Despite the numerical deficiency, Ricardo Matias scored the second goal in stoppage time of the first half after he followed the rebound of his colleague Yannick Carrasco. Belgian Carrasco concluded Al-Shabab's hat-trick in the 85th minute with a shot from the edge of the penalty area that landed in a tight corner.

Al-Taawoun’s score froze at three points in 17th place, penultimate.

The Houthi militia's terrorist attacks did not spare any civilians. Its treacherous bombing of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh claimed dozens of victims and injuries, among them Wael Al-Safari, a Sunni player for Al-Fayhaa Club from Al-Majma'ah, who received a humanitarian gesture from the leadership, after the Minister of Health, Dr. Fahd Al-Jalajel, visited him to check on his health condition.

During the visit, the Minister of Health reassured the player’s health condition, listening to an explanation about the nature of the injury and the medical procedures he underwent. The doctor responsible for the player’s condition explained that Al-Safari suffered an injury to the left thigh as a result of deep shrapnel, which required surgical intervention to deal with the injury and remove the damaged tissue.

The treating doctor indicated that the operation was performed on the player, and all the fragments were extracted, expressing his hope that his health condition will improve in the coming days, paving the way for the recovery phase and his return to the stadiums soon, according to developments in his health condition, and the evaluation of the medical team supervising his treatment.

The Minister of Health also conveyed to the player the greetings of the wise leadership, stressing the attention and care he receives, in light of the keenness of the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to ensure the health of the injured and provide them with the necessary care.

The sports community hopes that player Wael Al-Safari will recover quickly, and that he will overcome this health stage safely, so that he can return to his normal life and continue his sporting career with the Sunni groups in Al-Fayhaa Club, amid calls for his recovery and complete health.