8/24/2023-|Last update: 8/25/202301:48 AM (Mecca Time)
Karim Benzema scored his first goal in the Saudi Professional Football League, and also set up another goal to lead Al-Ittihad to a 4-0 victory over its host, Riyadh, in a match that witnessed Abdul Razzaq Hamdallah scoring two goals on Thursday.
Al-Ittihad, the defending champion, raised its tally to 9 points, to lead with the full score, with a goal difference from Al-Ahly, its local rival.
While Riyadh’s rising balance to the Lights League froze at 4 points, in ninth place.
Benzema gave the lead to Al-Ittihad in the 17th minute, and Hamdallah reinforced the second from a penalty kick 8 minutes later, before adding the third in the tenth minute of stoppage time for the first half.
Benzema scores his first league goal 🇸🇦⚽️#Roshan_Saudi_League#Riyadh _ Union | #SSC pic.twitter.com/ucCCewxX3M
– Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) August 24, 2023
Saleh Al-Omari concluded the goals of the federation near the end.
Salah is present at the federal celebrations
Al-Ittihad fans celebrated the goals, and some of them wore a mask bearing a picture of the face of Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, who BN Sports said had agreed to move to the team during the current transfer period.
Coach Nuno Santo pushed his striking force from the start, with Romarinho and Igor Coronado behind Benzema and Hamdallah, while relying on Ngolo Kante and Fabinho in the middle of the field.
Benzema almost scored immediately after kick-off, after he dodged goalkeeper Martin Campania, but he hit the bodies of the Riyadh defense elements stationed on the goal line.
Riyadh responded quickly with two chances for Juan Miguel (Juanmi) and Knowledge Musona within 3 minutes.
Juanmi shot over the crossbar after goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe was alone in the tenth minute, while captain Musona’s shot passed near the right post.
The former Real Madrid striker disengaged in the 17th minute, after exchanging the ball with Romarinho, and hit the goal successfully to celebrate his first goal in the Saudi League.
Benzema’s goal came after reports by local media that indicated a strained relationship between him and coach Santo because he believes that the French star does not fit his style of play and did not request a contract with him, but Benzema’s participation and registration may deny these reports.
Coronado fired a wonderful shot that went over the crossbar in the 20th minute.
Hamdallah adds the second goal of the union ⚽#Roshan_Saudi_League#Riyadh _ Union | #SSC pic.twitter.com/i9GXJhQ1sS
– Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) August 24, 2023
Hamdallah successfully translated a penalty kick in the 25th minute, which he had won after being blocked by defender Ahmed Asiri.
Romarinho thought he had made the score 3-0 before his goal was canceled for offside in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
A canceled goal for the federation due to offside ❌#Roshan_Saudi_League#Riyadh _ Union | #SSC pic.twitter.com/nt2uMUhgta
– Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) August 24, 2023
And 6 minutes later, the Moroccan striker returned to score his second goal with a double kick, after a cross pass from Hamdallah Al-Olayan.
Musona tried and hit from long range 10 minutes after the break, but goalkeeper Grohe saved the effort successfully.
Campania shone twice in front of Hamdallah, then Romarinho’s shot, turning the ball into a corner after an hour of play.
Benzema tried and hit from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball passed by the right post 10 minutes before the end.
Substitute Saleh Al Abbas missed a penalty kick for Riyadh near the end, after Grohi successfully blocked the shot, to keep Al-Ittihad’s clean sheet for the third match in a row.
Al-Omari scored the fourth goal, after turning a cross pass from Benzema into the net in the third minute of stoppage time for the second half.
Federal quad in the window of Riyadh ✅
⚽️Watch the goals⤵️#Roshan_Saudi_League#Riyadh _ Union | #SSC pic.twitter.com/mhxVckCT6s
– Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) August 24, 2023
Mitrovic leads Al-Hilal to a wide victory
Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic scored his first goal with Al-Hilal, in his debut appearance, to put the team on the road to a 4-0 victory over Al-Raed despite its slow start in the Saudi Professional Football League.
Salem Al-Dosari added two more goals, and Abdullah Al-Hammad scored a fourth goal for Al-Hilal in the second half of the match, which the two teams ended with 10 players, after Sergey Milinkovic-Savic and Omar Gonzalez were sent off.
Bono is shining
The match witnessed the first appearance of Moroccan goalkeeper Yassin Bounou, who moved to Al Hilal from Seville, and blocked two dangerous chances at the start of the second half.
Thus, Al-Hilal returns to the path of victories, after its 1-1 draw with Al-Fayhaa in the last round, to rise to second place with 7 points, two points behind Al-Ittihad, the defending champions and leaders.
quadruple.. #Crescent moon Exceed #Pioneer ✅
📺 Watch the goals of the match ⤵️#Roshan_Saudi_League#Major _ Crescent | #SSC pic.twitter.com/czZ3p6oDpY
– Saudi Sports Company SSC (@ssc_sports) August 24, 2023
2023-08-24 20:49:33
#Watch. #Benzema #scores #AlIttihad #quadruple #AlHilal #appearance #goalkeeper #Bono #Saudi #League
