Gerrard: “No one can stop Dembele from scoring goals”

The Al Hilal machine rolled on in Matchweek 23 with another victory seeing them extend their lead to 12 points at the top of the Roshn Saudi League after Al Nassr’s shock 3-1 loss at home to Al Raed.

Elsewhere, Al Ittihad bounced back with an important win to return to the top four for the first time since December, and Ettifaq’s resurgence continued with another impressive victory against Abha.

Here is the best of the reaction to the latest round of RSL action.

Al Hilal made it 16 league wins in a row with a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Al Riyadh. Brazilian winger Michael found the back of the net for just the second time this season, but admitted they were made to work for the win by the cross-town foes.

“The Saudi League is so much stronger than it was, [so] it’s normal that, with time, the teams are better prepared to play against us. But we are happy with the win. We need to keep winning because this is the most important thing.”

At only 16 years and 175 days, Talal Haji became the youngest goalscorer in RSL history after his late effort secured all three points for Al Ittihad against Al Okhdood. The win saw them return to the top four for the first time in almost three months.

“I am happy because I scored my first goal with the first team. I hope it will be a good start for me and the future will be better.”

Spaniard Alex Collado scored a stunning equaliser for Al Okhdood against Al Ittihad with a powerful effort from range, although he was left disappointed after the game that his side didn’t go on and walk away with a point.

“I’ve seen the opportunity to shoot, I trust in my shot, and in the end today it’s gone in. I’m happy to contribute this goal but upset with today’s defeat.”

Al Raed registered one of the upsets of the season with a 3-1 win at second-placed Al Nassr. Starting the round in 15th, just above the relegation zone, the victory is a massive boost to their survival chances as they finish the round in 13th place. Their coach, Igor Jovicevic, was understandably over the moon after the game, but already had his eye on their next game as he celebrated with the players on the pitch.

“We must confirm this victory against Al Taawoun, OK?!”

Al Fayha’s 3-2 win against Al Shabab was one of this season’s most dramatic. After taking a 2-0 lead courtesy of a brace from Nigerian Henry Onyekuru, Al Shabab scored twice in three minutes in the dying minutes to draw level before Al Fayha won it in the 98th minute. Onyekuru was understandably delighted after the game.

“I am happy, of course, that we won. It’s an important three points. Kudos to the team, we fought [hard]. It’s not easy to play and to take victory from here. I would say I am happy, everyone is happy, and I hope it continues like this.”

Ghanaian Bernard Mensah became the highest goalscorer in a single season for Al Tai with his 11th strike of the campaign to earn a 1-0 win over Al Hazem in a crucial relegation battle. Despite that record, the Ghanaian is only focused on team success and knows more needs to be done to secure safety.

"We needed this important three points to take our confidence back and to continue that journey, because it's been very difficult for us. Since December we never win any game. We're very happy to take these three points. It's 21 points, and we want to continue like this. We want to win more games."

Moussa Dembele made it two goals in as many matches, with his 89th-minute strike rounding out a 3-0 win for Steven Gerrard’s side against Abha. With that his ninth goal of the season, Gerard fired an ominous warning to his upcoming opponents.

“No one can stop Moussa Dembele from scoring goals.”