Hull City took another step closer to the Premier League as they defeated a very strong Ipswich side away from home 2-1. Fan favourite Gedo missed the game through injury as Ahmed Al-Mohamadi played the full game and the third Egyptian on the squad, Ahmed Fathi, came on in the 69th minute as his side chased a winner. Al-Mohamadi had a very good day at the office as he conquered the right flank throughout the 90 minutes and could have notched several assists if the strikers had a better day in front of goal. As for Fathi, he was a calming influence in his 20-minute cameo and dictated the play well and seemed more comfortable and confident with every touch as he's still settling in England with his new team. Hull managed to clinch the vital winner five minutes from time which means they stayed second behind Cardiff. Adam Al-Abd's Brighton continued their journey towards a Premier League spot as they defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 away from home to go to fifth in the league table. Al-Abd watched the game from the bench as manager Gustavo Poyet decided to start the game with the same team that drew against Leicester City in the previous week. Brighton entered the game knowing they must leave with all three points to keep the dream of a place in the play-offs alive and managed to deliver a performance of Premier League quality that helped them achieve what they came for. As it stands now Cardiff and Hull City will be promoted directly to the Premier League without taking part in the play-offs while Watford, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Bolton will enter the playoffs which will produce one winner that will join Cardiff and Hull in the Premier League. Egyptian fans will certainly be hoping both Hull and Brighton can snatch promotion places. The soon to be world class player Mohamed Salah is definitely the star of this week as he played a starring role in Basel's two important games. First, he played a key role when Basel defeated Tottenham to qualify for the semi-finals of the Europa league. The game ended in a 2-2 draw which led to a penalty shoot-out in which Basel triumphed to set up a mouth-watering clash against English giants and Champions League holders Chelsea in the semi-finals. After going 1-0 down, Salah managed to equalise for his team with a magnificent finish after man of the match Al-Nenni intercepted the ball in the middle of the park. In addition to the goal, Salah tormented Spurs' defenders and Vertonghen in specific throughout the whole game as he used his speed and eye for goal to keep them on their toes for the entire match. Salah's finish on goal was simply incredible but credit should go to Al-Nenni who read Moussa Dembele's pass extremely well and intercepted the ball which started a counter-attack that gave Streller the chance to send Salah through on goal to finish empathically. Al-Nenni played his best game for Basel as he delivered an all-round performance that saw him coming close to scoring on two occasions with two magnificent long-range shots. The first shot was saved exceptionally well by Brad Friedel while the second hit the post and nearly took it apart. Overall, Al-Nenni and Salah were the best two players on the field and played the main role in the qualification of Basel to the semis. Salah was replaced in the 110th minute while Al-Nenni played the full game but did not take any of the penalty shoot-outs. Salah's brilliance continued in the league as he came off the bench to score in Basel's vital home game against Zurich. Salah came on in the 77th when it was 1-1 and quickly injected some energy and pace into the team which helped them take the lead in the 86th minute before Salah sealed the win in the last minute after a one-on-one with the keeper that saw him slotting home after the keeper saved his first shot. Al-Nenni was rested for this game after playing two games in four days. After that win, Basel stayed top. In Italy, Ahmed Hegazi's Fiorentina defeated Atalanta 2-0 away from home to stay fourth in the league. After the game, Hegazi was interviewed on Fiorentina's official website and indicated that he was one month away from returning to matches but that he was unsure about the possibility of making any further appearances for the Viola this season as it was just six weeks away from its end. Only time will tell if Hegazi will see any action by the end of this season. In the UAE, Abu Treika's Banni Yas will face Al Ahli later this week as they will try to narrow the 11-point gap between them and league leaders Al Ain. Abu Treika is expected to start the game after returning to his best physical condition in recent weeks and after proving his fitness when he netter the only goal of the game against El Shabab the previous week. Arab and African: In England, Nigerian striker Victor Anichebe scored the second goal for Everton as they defeated QPR 2-0 at home. Benin attacker Stephan Sessegnon scored a brilliant goal for Sunderland as they defeated Newcastle 3-0 away from home. In Spain, Ghanaian striker Wakaso Mubarak scored the first goal for Espanyol as they drew 3-3 against Valencia at home. In France, Algerian star Mehdi Mostafa scored the only goal for side Ajaccio as they drew 1-1 against Nancy at home. In Russia, Ivorian star Lamina Traore scored Anzhi's second goal as they defeated Volga 3-0 away from home.
