Al Hilal in control against Al Ittihad
Al Hilal SFC secured a vital 2-0 victory over ten-man Al Ittihad in the first leg of their AFC Champions League quarter-final at Kingdom Arena on Tuesday.
The two teams had played each other in the same stage in 2019 with Al Hilal passing through to the semi-finals with a 3-1 aggregate scoreline, going on to win the title on that occasion.
Four days after a 3-1 victory over their domestic rivals in the Saudi Pro League on the same ground, Al Hilal were again in imperious form, with Aleksandar Mitrovic returning to the fold, having been suspended for the league encounter.
The hosts came flying out of the blocks and could have been 1-0 up inside just seven minutes when Salem Al Dawsari carried the ball past two Al Ittihad defenders to move one-on-one with the goalkeeper but sent his shot from close range just too wide.
At the other end of the pitch, Abderrazak Hamdallah responded in kind, collecting Fabinho’s overhead pass and dancing his way past two players before attempting to apply the finish from a tight angle, only for goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais to deny him.
Al Hilal found a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when forward Mitrovic was
brought down inside the box by former Al Hilal full-back Madallah Al Olayan. The Serbian stepped up and confidently dispatched home from the spot for 1-0 with five minutes left to the break.
Just two minutes later, Al Ittihad’s defence was breached again after Malcom broke free down the right before squaring
for Al Dawsari who was left with a simple finish past his former teammate Abdullah Al Mayouf to double Al Hilal’s lead.
Al Ittihad’s woes were compounded midway through the second half when N’golo Kante received his marching orders, following a dangerous tackle on his former Chelsea teammate Kalidou Koulibaly.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Al Ittihad could have halved the deficit late on, when Fabinho launched a counter-attack, allowing youngster Marwan Al Sahafi to run into space down the right before teeing up Hamdallah whose finish looked destined for the bottom corner, was it not for a fantastic low save from Al Owais.