The former Nigeria striker played an important role in front of goal as the White Lions revived their push for the top-flight glory
Odion Ighalo scored a goal and provided an assist as Al Shabab boosted their Saudi Pro League title hopes with an emphatic 5-1 home win over Al Shabab.
The former Manchester United star who scored a brace in his team’s 4-3 loss to Al Ittifaq last Friday, continued with his goalscoring run on Wednesday as the hosts ended their back-to-back losses in the league.
Brazil’s Seba opened the scoring for Al Shabab in the 36th minute and Ighalo doubled the lead with his effort in the 41st minute, thanks to an assist from Argentina’s Cristian Guanca.
The hosts were heading into the break with a two-goal lead but it was halved by Senegal midfielder Badou Ndiaye who scored Al Ain’s only goal in the encounter.
After the break, Al Shabab continued their goals party with Ever Banega making it 3-1 and Ighalo returned Guanca’s first-half gesture with an assist for the Argentine to stretch their lead to 4-1 in the 72nd minute.
Igor Lichnovsky wrapped up the maximum points for the White Lions with seven minutes left on the clock.
Meanwhile, Ighalo did not finish the game as he was replaced in the 76th minute by Turki Al-Ammar.
Since he moved to Saudi Arabia in February, the former Super Eagles striker has contributed to Al Shabab’s quest for the top-flight crown with six goals in his 11 league appearances.
Carlos Hernandez’s side are second in the Saudi Pro League table with 51 points after 28 matches, and they are four points behind leaders Al Hilal with two matches left to play for.
Ighalo will turn his attention to Sunday’s league trip to Al Faisaly and he will aim to help the White Lions build on Wednesday’s win before their final game of the season against Al Wehda on May 30.
The 31-year-old moved to Al Shabab earlier this year on a two-and-a-half-year deal from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua, following the expiry of his loan spell at Manchester United.
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