Saudi league champions, Al Hilal still in the lead with 41 matches unbeaten
Roshn Saudi League champions Al Hilal rebounded from a goal down in Saturday night’s huge clash with Al Ahli to triumph 2-1 and maintain their 100 percent start to the season.
The Riyadh side, unbeaten in their past 41 league outings, went into the final fixture of Matchweek 6 already on top of the table, but moved three points ahead of second-placed Al Ittihad with a spirited fightback in front of a season-record 53,036 fans at King Abdullah Sports City.
Mitrovic, though, would soon have his moment. On 56 minutes, Lodi floated another lovely cross into the Al Ahli area for the prolific No.9 to place his close-range header into the net to draw parity in the match.
Al Hilal then twice went close to edging ahead, first when Ruben Neves’ free-kick was saved well by Al Sanbi and soon after when the replacement for the injured Edouard Mendy somehow kept out Salem Al Dawsari’s rebound after Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s effort was blocked on the line.
With 18 minutes remaining, Al Hilal did break through. Al Ahli defender Rayan Hamed felled Malcom in the area and, after Al Sanbi has been deemed to have left his line prematurely to repel Mitrovic’s first penalty, the Al Hilal hotshot duly dispatched the retake.
Attempting to prevent a third defeat in their opening six 2024-25 RSL matches, Al Ahli resolved to get back into the contest. Riyad Mahrez’s shot deep into injury-time flashed wide, though, and Al Hilal had a sixth successive victory to begin the season.
Jorge Jesus’ side, unbeaten in the RSL back to May last year, therefore go into the international break well-placed at the summit. Al Ittihad sit second by dint of their defeat in last month’s Saudi Clasico, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr are third, four points off the lead.
