Al Ansar maintained its lead in the overall standings of the Lebanese league by defeating last season's champion Al Ahli with a clean sheet of 3-0 (first half 1-0) in a match held this afternoon at the Zgharta Sports Complex in Mardashiya, during the eleventh phase of the second round of the "Top Group" for the teams that ranked in the top six at the end of the first half of the 63rd Lebanese football league season.
Palestinian player Mohammed Habous opened the scoring for Al Ansar in the first minute of stoppage time in the first half, tapping in from close range after a failure by goalkeeper Mustafa Matar to deal with a corner taken from the left. However, referee Hussain Abu Yahya, after reviewing with VAR, awarded a penalty to Al Ansar for a foul by goalkeeper Matar. Senegalese striker Hajj Malik Tal took the penalty, shooting it to the left of Matar, who dived to the right, giving Al Ansar the lead.
Algerian player Hicham Khalafallah added the second goal for Al Ansar with a backheel shot into Matar's net. In the 71st minute, Hajj Malik scored Al Ansar's third and his second personal goal with a low shot from inside the box to Matar's right after a quick break that beat the offside trap.
With this result, Al Ahli has effectively distanced itself from the title race, which is now limited to Al Ansar (the record holder with 14 titles).
At the Amin Abd al-Nour Municipal Stadium in Bhamdoun, Al Nejmeh defeated Al Barj 1-0 (first half 1-0), with the goal scored by Saeed Awada in the 17th minute. Al Nejmeh retained second place, two points behind Al Ansar, while extending the gap with Al Ahli to four points.
At the Rachid Karamé Municipal Stadium in Tripoli, Al Safa and Racing Beirut drew 1-1. Danin Talovic scored for Al Safa in the 55th minute, and Ali Moussaoui equalized for Racing in the 96th minute.
