The eyes of the world are on the Saudi Pro League like never before after many prominent stars arrived in the Kingdom last year. Every week, Al Arabiya will summarize the main stories as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neymar, and others compete for the title of the 2023-2024 season.
Round 18: Al Hilal on Cloud Nine, Damac’s Rise Continues
Al Hilal maintained a 10-point lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League after a stunning 7-0 victory over Abha. Midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić was one of Al Hilal’s standout players this season, scoring a brilliant hat-trick against Abha and leading his team to an easy win.
Abha surprisingly took the lead just four minutes into the match, but Milinković-Savić managed to open the scoring for Al Hilal with a powerful shot after a wonderful assist from Yasser Al Shahrani. Seven minutes later, Aleksandar Mitrović successfully scored Al Hilal’s second goal from a penalty, bringing him to his sixteenth goal in the league this season.
The score remained 2-0 until the middle of the second half when Abha’s performance dramatically deteriorated. It started in the 73rd minute when Salem Al-Dawsari scored from close range, and Al Hilal followed up with four more goals before the end of the match.
Milinković-Savić was in the right place at the right time to score his third goal with a pass from Mitrović and completed his hat-trick in the 96th minute with a header. Mohamed Kanno and Rubén Neves scored two other goals, with Neves’s free-kick from 30 yards being the best goal of the match.
Al Ittihad’s Crisis Continues
The problems for Al Ittihad continued after the appointment of a new coach, as they suffered three losses by 3-1 in their last four matches, including a disappointing exit from the Club World Cup at the hands of Egyptian Al Ahly.
The hopes of Al Ittihad fans were high for a win in an easy match in the Saudi Pro League against Al Raed, but the team from Al-Qassim managed to achieve a surprising victory and secure three valuable points in their relegation battle. Indeed, Al Ittihad faced difficulties since the 12th minute when Mudallal Al-Olayan was sent off for tripping Julio Tavares as he was shooting on goal.
The 10-man team took the lead ten minutes later when Karim Al-Barkawi scored Al Raed’s first goal with a header. Romarinho equalized shortly after, scoring Al Ittihad’s second goal with a powerful right-footed shot. However, Al-Barkawi added his second and the team’s third goal after the break, while Mohamed Al-Dosari secured the three points with a last-minute goal. With this result, Al Raed moved out of the relegation zone, while Al Ittihad stayed in sixth place.
Exciting Rise of Damac
One of the most exciting stories in recent weeks in the Saudi Pro League has been Damac’s rise from mediocrity to competing for qualification for the AFC Champions League. Since a narrow 2-1 loss to Al Nassr in October, Damac has not lost in the league, winning seven matches and drawing two. Among these victories, Damac defeated Al Feiha and Al Ittihad in recent weeks.
George Kevin Nkoudou played a crucial role in Damac’s rise, scoring 14 goals in 17 matches this season, eight of them in the last four matches. Nkoudou did not score in the 3-0 victory over Al Tai, demonstrating Damac’s ability to win without Nkoudou’s intervention. The two Algerian defenders for Damac played a pivotal role in this match, with Farouk Shafai scoring the first goal, followed by Kader Badran scoring the second with a stunning free-kick shot.
Damac’s third goal was the best of the match, as Romanian Nicolae Stanciu dazzled the Al Tai defense before expertly lifting the ball over the goalkeeper. With this victory, Damac climbed to fifth place and has a good chance of achieving a sixth consecutive win when they face relegation-threatened Al Riyadh next in the Saudi capital.
Best
Except for them
The pressure continued to mount on Al-Ettifaq coach Steven Gerrard after the 3-1 defeat against Al-Nassr. Alex Telles opened the scoring with a stunning shot, followed by Marcelo Brozović adding the second goal, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal from a penalty to return to the top of the Saudi Pro League’s goal scorers.
There was a slight positive point for Al-Ettifaq, as the team scored its second goal in the league since October 28, although Mohammed Al-Qwaikbi’s goal was merely a consolation and did not change the outcome of the match. Al-Ettifaq has won only one of its last 12 matches in all competitions. In the next match, Al-Ettifaq must secure a victory against defeat to maintain its hopes of staying in the league, while Al-Nassr faces Al-Ittihad.
Al-Ahli’s remarkable performance continued in away matches as they achieved a second consecutive victory with a score of 4-0. The team has scored 14 goals in its last three away games in the Saudi Pro League. This time, Al-Ahli benefited from a header by Riyad Mahrez in injury time of the first half. In the second half, Gabriel Vega, Feras Al-Breikan, and Merih Demiral scored additional goals.
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