A late, late header from Ali Al Bulaihi ensured Roshn Saudi League champions Al Hilal keep on the coattails of Al Ittihad heading into the winter break.
The title-holders needed to twice rebound from a goal down at home to Al Raed on Saturday night, with Al Bulaihi's 104th-minute intervention sealing the points at Kingdom Arena. The win means Al Hilal move back to within two points of Al Ittihad at the top of the table, as the RSL pauses until January 9, when it resumes with Matchweek 14.
Saturday’s late kick-off sparked into life on seven minutes, with Al Raed’s Karim El Berkaoui meeting Mohammed Al Dossari’s low cross from the right to finish past Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bono.
The hosts, who earlier this week were drawn against Real Madrid for next summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, dominated from there, but did not equalise until just before half-time. Malcom chipped a perfectly weighted ball to the far post, where the in-form Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was stationed to send a beautiful looping header over Andre Moreira in the opposition goal.
However, Al Raed restored their lead in the 78th minute, Yahya Sunbul racing into the right-hand side of the Al Hilal penalty area and drilling his shot beyond Bono.
With time seemingly against them, though, Al Hilal restored parity once more. Only two minutes of normal time were remaining when Joao Cancelo crossed for Marcos Leonardo, who thumped home his header.
Yet there would be another sting in the tail for Al Raed, when deep into stoppage-time and from a corner, Al Bulaihi made it a hat-trick of headers for the home side to secure a last-gasp victory and send the majority of Kingdom Arena wild in celebration.
Also on Saturday, Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq finally got back to winning ways in the RSL with a 2-1 triumph at Al Khaleej. Like Al Hilal, the Dammam club had to turn around the match having gone behind to Khaled Narey’s 35th-minute goal.
Captain Georginio Wijnaldum drew Al Ettifaq level in first-half stoppage-time before Abdullah Radif clinched a much-needed win for the away team seven minutes from time. The victory, Al Ettifaq’s first in 10 RSL matches, lifted Gerrard's men into 11th, while Al Khaleej drop to eighth.
Speaking of movement in the standings, Al Ahli are now up to fifth following a fourth successive RSL success. The Jeddah side came back from two goals down against Al Taawoun to emerge 4-2 victors in Buraidah – with four different goalscorers.
Al Taawoun scored twice in three minutes midway through the first half through Joao Pedro and Musa Barrow before Roger Ibanez pulled one back in the eighth minute of first-half injury-time. After the break, Al Ahli ran away from their opponents, with Feras Al Buraikan, Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez all finding the net.
While Al Ahli move two points off the top four, Al Taawoun head into the winter hiatus in ninth.
