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3. Football: Al-Ansar Still Leads, Safa Pushes, Racing Rushes Towards Safety

The sixth day of the Lebanese football championship play-offs sowed confusion both at the top and bottom of the table. Between title contenders stumbling and others hanging on, and a fierce battle to avoid relegation, the suspense remains intact with one matchday to go.

Title Play-Offs: Al-Ansar Falters but Stays on Top, Safa Gets Back into Position

Setback for al-Ansar. The Greens suffered their third defeat in this final phase by losing to al-Ahed (2-0) on the pitch of the Fouad Chehab Stadium. Hussein Ezzeddine made the difference for the Black and Whites with a brace (35’, 55’) scored from two clear plays, including a blazing counterattack. Despite this setback, al-Ansar remains at the top of the standings thanks to a better goal difference.

Safa, for its part, bounced back with a 2-1 win against Nejmeh. Hussein Haidar (14’) and Guy Mbenza from the penalty spot (45’) put the Yellow and Blue ahead. Rabih Ataya reduced the deficit in the second half (62’), but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome. Safa thus catches up to al-Ansar (26 points), but remains second on goal difference.

In the last match, La Sagesse and Tadamon Sour played out a goalless draw in a frustrating duel. The Beirut club missed a penalty through its Senegalese player Ding, as in the first leg against the same opponent.

Standings (after 6 matchdays – title play-offs)

1. Al-Ansar – 26 pts
2. Safa – 26 pts
3. Al-Ahed – 24 pts
4. La Sagesse – 15 pts
5. Nejmeh – 14 pts
6. Tadamon Sour – 13 pts

Relegation Play-Offs: Racing Flies, Bourj Solid, Ghazieh in Danger

Nothing seems to stop Racing Beirut. Well-organized and disciplined, the capital club came from behind to defeat Chabab Ghazieh (2-1) thanks to goals by Edmond Chehade (39’) and Jimmy Kazzan (67’), after Mazen Jamal had opened the scoring (28’) for the visitors. Racing tops the group with 18 points, while Ghazieh remains stuck at 4 points and sees relegation approaching.

Bourj also earned a solid victory by beating Chabab Sahel 2-0. Ahmed Hijazi opened the scoring in the 69th minute, followed by Hassan Mehanna in the 80th. Bourj comes within one point of the leader, while Sahel loses ground.

Finally, the match between Riyadi Abbassiyeh and Baalbeck ended in a draw (1-1). An own goal by Ali Azzam (49’) gave Abbassiyeh the lead before Koné scored the equalizer in the 70th minute.

Standings (after 6 matchdays – relegation play-offs)

1. Racing Beirut – 18 pts
2. Bourj – 17 pts
3. Chabab Sahel – 17 pts
4. Riyadi Abbassiyeh – 12 pts
5. Baalbeck – 9 pts
6. Chabab Ghazieh – 4 pts

One Last Round Under High Tension

The championship enters its final stretch. At the top, al-Ansar and Safa are neck and neck, with al-Ahed still lurking. At the bottom, Racing seems on track for safety, but for Ghazieh, relegation seems inevitable. The verdict awaits on the final matchday… where every goal could tilt the fate.