Al-Ittihad Overcomes Al-Ettifaq Trap and Edges Closer to the Title
Al-Ittihad pulled six points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League despite facing difficulties in their 3–2 victory over visitors Al-Ettifaq in the opening match of Matchweek 29.
The Jeddah-based side capitalized on the slip of direct rivals Al-Hilal, last season’s champions, who were held to a 2–2 draw by their neighbors Al-Shabab. This result strengthened Al-Ittihad’s chances of reclaiming the league title from “Al-Zaeem” and winning their 10th league title in club history.
With this win, Al-Ittihad achieved more than just three points, as they bounced back from their 0–2 defeat to Al-Fateh in the previous round. They secured their 21st win of the season, raising their tally to 68 points, while Al-Hilal remained on 62 points, with a much tougher road now ahead in the title race.
Comeback and Strong Response
At Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, Al-Ettifaq took an early lead through Brazilian forward Vitinho, whose powerful strike from outside the box deflected off defender Saad Al-Mousa and deceived his own goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Mahasneh (5).
Portuguese midfielder Danilo Pereira leveled the score after connecting with a cross from French star Karim Benzema, sending it into the empty net past Slovakian goalkeeper Marek Rodák (11).
Benzema then gave Al-Ittihad the lead, capitalizing on a misplaced pass from an Al-Ettifaq player. He sprinted from midfield and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper before slotting it home (35), establishing himself as the star of the match with a goal and an assist, taking his season tally to 27 contributions (18 goals and 9 assists).
Algerian midfielder Houssem Aouar extended the lead with a third goal after a brilliant pass inside the box from fellow Frenchman Moussa Diaby (45+2).
Al-Ettifaq pulled one back when Pereira inadvertently headed a cross from Spaniard Álvaro Medrán into his own net (84). Al-Ettifaq pushed hard in the closing minutes in search of an equalizer but failed to convert, leaving them stuck at 40 points in seventh place in the standings.
VAR Saves Al-Hilal
At Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Al-Hilal dropped two crucial points after being held to a 2–2 draw by Al-Shabab.
Al-Shabab opened the scoring through Portuguese winger Daniel Podence, whose powerful shot slipped through the hands of Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou and into the net (7).
Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić equalized after a brilliant pass from captain Salem Al-Dawsari, finishing with a thunderous strike into Abdullah Al-Maiouf’s net (31).
Al-Dawsari then gave Al-Hilal the lead early in the second half after receiving a beautiful through ball from Brazilian winger Malcom, going one-on-one and calmly finishing (46).
Mohammed Al-Shwirekh leveled for Al-Shabab with a powerful close-range header following a superb cross from Gonzalo Gónzalez (Guanca) (68).
Al-Shabab then scored what they thought was a third goal through Belgian international and captain Yannick Carrasco, but it was ruled out for offside after a VAR review (72).
