MC Alger hands Oran its first defeat and climbs to second place

MC Alger secured a valuable 2-0 victory against visiting MC Oran on Wednesday evening at the Ali Amar Stadium in the capital, during a rescheduled match of the professional league. The first half, played behind closed doors due to a disciplinary sanction, saw the hosts break the deadlock in the 24th minute through a penalty converted by captain Ayoub Ghazala. In the second half, the visiting side pressed hard for an equalizer and failed to capitalize on a numerical advantage following the expulsion of defender Merouane Khelif in the 69th minute, as the home defense and goalkeeper Ramdane held firm. In the 89th minute, Ghazala sealed the win by chipping the ball over goalkeeper Zeghba during a counter-attack, marking the first goals conceded by Zeghba this season. With this outcome, the title holders raised their tally to 16 points, sharing the second spot with JS Kabylie while holding two games in hand, whereas MC Oran dropped to fourth with 15 points following their third consecutive winless match. CR Belouizdad leads the standings with 17 points and one game remaining.