Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Baghdad: Al Zawra regained the Iraqi League crown after a four-year gap when they overcame AFC Cup quarterfinalists Arbil 5-4 on penalties.
Al Zawra goalkeeper Ammar Ali stopped Nabil Salah’s shot to hand his team their 12th crown after 120 minutes of stalemate.
Twenty-eight teams were divided into two groups (South and North) of 14 teams each and both the teams topped their respective groups to make it to the summit clash.
In the North Zone, Arbil finished with 56 points from 26 matches, one more than Al Sinaah while Al Zawra’s tally of 62 points was two more than Al Quwa Al Jawiya in the South.
A Ayad Shaalan strike in the 79th minute gave Al Sinaah a 1-0 victory over Al Quwa Al Jawiya in the third-place playoff.
Arbil will travel to Indonesia for the first leg of their AFC Cup quarter-finals against Persipura Jayapura on September 13 before hosting the return leg on September 27.