Due to making up games and a poor start to the Algeria Ligue 1 Professionnelle season, it took until the final stretch of the season but the patience of CR Belouizdad fans has been rewarded as Le Grand Chabab now sit at the top of the table following their 2-1 win on Tuesday over ASO Chlef. Mohamed Belkhir’s brilliant curled in free kick from a tight angle on the left wing gave CRB the lead in the 52nd minute and after conceding an equalizer in the 60th, Khaled Bousseliou converted a penalty kick less than 20 minutes from full time to get the crucial three points.
ES Sétif had the league lead for just about the entire season but complacency and poor recent form has seen them lose their spot at the worst possible time. A decisive 4-0 defeat to fourth placed MC Oran made it three losses in the last five games for ESS and now Les Aigles Noirs are on the outside looking in for a championship with seven games left to play. ESS and CRB are tied at 60 points but CRB still have one game to make up and their 11-match unbeaten run in league play suggests they have no plans to relinquish their spot anytime soon.
Highlights from both matches are below.
CR Belouizdad 2-1 ASO Chlef
MC Oran 4-0 ES Sétif
