The week in Asian football

Jan 26 - Talking points from the week in Asian football:

AL-HILAL'S LEAD CUT IN SAUDI ARABIA

Al-Hilal saw their Saudi Pro League lead trimmed to five points after being held 1-1 by Al-Riyadh on Sunday.

Marcos Leonardo gave Al-Hilal a 26th minute lead but Ibrahim Bayesh levelled 13 minutes into the second half as the home side dropped points in the league for the first time since September.

Al-Ahli moved into second place with a 3-0 victory over Neom SC, Ivan Toney's 55th minute penalty putting his side ahead and, after Khalifah Al-Dawsari was sent off six minutes later, further goals from Riyad Mahrez and Enzo Millot sealed the win.

MACARTHUR HIT CHAMPIONS CITY FOR SIX TO MOVE UP TO THIRD

Macarthur FC climbed to third in the A-League on Saturday after handing defending champions Melbourne City a 6-2 thrashing.

Mitchell Duke opened the scoring six minutes into his debut before Luke Brattan doubled the lead shortly after, setting the tone for a win that also saw Anthony Caceres, Luke Vickery, Dean Bosnjak and Harry Sawyer score.

Auckland FC lead the league by a point from Newcastle Jets after their 2-2 draw with strugglers Central Coast Mariners. Melbourne City are in seventh.

STRUGGLING WESTERN SYDNEY FIRE HEAD COACH STAJCIC

Former Asian champions Western Sydney Wanderers have sacked head coach Alen Stajcic due to the club's poor A-League form.

Stajcic, who guided the club to the end-of-season finals in his first campaign in charge with a fourth-place finish, was fired with Wanderers bottom of the 12-team standings. His last game in charge was a 2-1 loss to Newcastle Jets on Jan. 17.

JAPAN RETAIN ASIAN U23 TITLE WITH FOUR-GOAL WIN OVER CHINA

Japan successfully defended the under-23 Asian Cup title in Saudi Arabia on Saturday with a 4-0 win over China in the final in Jeddah.

Yuto Ozeki's deflected effort gave Japan a 12th-minute lead and Kosei Ogura doubled the advantage eight minutes later. Ryunsoke Sato's 59th minute penalty moved Japan further ahead before Ogura scored his second of the game with 14 minutes left. REUTERS