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.
Beginning the day seventh in the table, it was Al Ahli who took an early lead – much to the delight of the passionate and partisan home crowd. Receiving the ball inside the centre circle, forward Feras Al Buraikan set free Gabri Veiga, and the Spanish youngster remained just onside to race clear, round Yassine Bono in the Al Hilal goal and squeeze his shot into the net.
His Moroccan rival, last season’s RSL Goalkeeper of the Year, did get his hands to Veiga’s shot, but it caused the ball to loop up over defender Renan Lodi and nestle into the goal to send the Al Ahli faithful wild in celebration.
Not long after, Al Hilal almost had an equaliser. On 20 minutes, Lodi lifted a cross into the hosts’ penalty area, Aleksandar Mitrovic got to it a fraction before stand-in Al Ahli goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al Sanbi and directed the ball towards goal. However, home defender Merih Demiral raced back in time to thrash clear from under his own crossbar.
With Al Hilal pushing to level, Mitrovic thought he had done just that two minutes before half-time. The Serbian, with seven top-flight goals this term, met Joao Cancelo’s cross from the right to power home his header. Yet the goal was ruled out for offside.
The fans at Al Ahli vs. Al Hilal 🔥#RoshnSaudiLeague #AHLHIL pic.twitter.com/M15QzTETju
— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) October 5, 2024
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.
