Second-half goals from Fabinho and Houssem Aouar sent Al Ittihad to the top of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League table, two points clear of Al Hilal with a 2-0 victory over bottom side Al Fateh at Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City on Sunday.
Coach Laurent Blanc’s men went into the tie in the knowledge a win would secure the top spot for the first time since matchweek 3 after their rivals Al Hilal had suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Al Khaleej 24 hours earlier, their first in the competition in 18 months.
The buildup to the crucial encounter was marred by injury news, with Karim Benzema’s recovery timeline pushed by a week and Moussa Diaby suffering a training injury that will keep him out of contention for eight weeks.
After a near miss from Steven Bergwijn early on, Al Ittihad found the back of the net at the quarter-hour mark. The visitors’ defence was unable to deal with Abdulelah Hawsawi’s corner kick and the ball fell for Saleh Al Shehri who found the top corner, but the home side’s celebrations were cut short after a VAR review showed their striker to have been offside.
A goalless first half gave way to a clinical second half by the two-time Asian champions and before the hour mark, they had rightfully taken the lead. A well-worked passing move saw Bergwijn feed Mario Mitaj down the left and the Albanian squared for Fabinho who, arriving late in the box, side-footed into the bottom corner for his second goal of the season.
🇦🇱 Mario Mitaj was chosen by yourselves as the #ITTFAT man of the match 🏆#RoshnSaudiLeague pic.twitter.com/budMnx4nzU
— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) November 24, 2024
The win was sealed in the final minute of regular time when a quick counter attack saw left-back Muath Faqeehi send a diagonal ball into the path of fellow substitute Abdulrahman Al Obud who found Aouar at the near post. The Algerian’s emphatic finish was his sixth RSL goal since arriving from Olympique Lyon in the summer and it ensured Al Ittihad extended their winning streak to seven matches, taking full advantage of Al Hilal’s defeat.
Next up for Al Ittihad is a tricky Saturday trip to Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq who had beaten them 5-0 in their most recent clash, while Al Fateh will try to get their first win since matchweek 2 when they host Al Riyadh on Thursday.
