Erbil Stays on Top After a Nail-Biting 1-1 with Diyala, While Others Shine in Iraq’s Premier League

Matchday eight reshuffles the table

Erbil, the league leaders, were held to a 1-1 draw by Diyala on Monday night, in the eighth round of the Iraq Premier League.

Iyad Abdul-Farhan gave Diyala the lead in the sixth minute, but Uzbek forward Shirzod Timirov equalized for Erbil from a 67th-minute penalty, and Alaa Raad saw a late red card in the 87th.

Erbil moved to 20 points, leading the standings by four points ahead of Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, who will host Naft Misan tomorrow, while Diyala sit third with 16.

Amanat Baghdad beat Norouz 1-0 away, thanks to Jabar Karim's strike in the 74th minute.

That victory lifted Amanat Baghdad to 12 points in 10th place, while Norouz remain on three points in 18th.

Earlier on Monday, Al-Karkh defeated Al-Ghraaf 1-0, Haidar Ahmed scoring in the 40th.

Al-Karkh rose to 14 points in fifth, while Al-Ghraaf remained on 12 points in ninth after a second defeat.

Mosul and Naft Misan drew 1-1 in the same round, with the hosts taking the lead in the 40th minute through Cameroonian Rochi Fonig and Senegal's Dawda Dieme equalizing for Naft Misan in 45+4.

Mosul moved to 10 points in 13th position, Naft Misan to five points in 17th.

Punchline 1: If drama paid salaries, this league would be in the billions. Punchline 2: In this league, the table moves faster than a kebab cart on a busy street.