On matchday 22 of the Saudi Arabian league, Muñeco’s team started beating the leader, but Neymar’s team – who is still recovering from the injury – turned it around and asserted itself at the top.
Al Ittihad ended its good run in 2024 and today suffered its first defeat so far this year. Marcelo Gallardo’s team fell on its visit to the leader of the Pro League of Saudi Arabia: Al Hilal, led by the Portuguese Jorge Jesús, won 3-1 on matchday 22 and extended the lead at the top of the standings .
The defeat of Gallardo’s Al Ittihad
Without Karim Benzema, ruled out due to a physical problem, Al Ittihad took the lead at the start of the match thanks to the appearance of their other French star: N’Golo Kanté, who opened the scoring with a header in the 12th minute of play. little dove
The 1-0 lasted until 38 minutes, when Saleh Al Shehri found a rebound in the area after a corner and scored the tie. Three minutes later, Gallardo’s team was awarded a penalty but the VAR reviewed the alleged grab and the referee changed his decision.
In the second half, Al Hilal showed signs of being a candidate and made the difference: at 13 Malcom found an unmarked cross inside the area and made it 2-1 with a header, and at 21 Saud Abdulhamid finished it off, after a good play staff.
With this victory, Neymar’s team increased its lead advantage thanks to yesterday’s draw by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, and now has 62 points: nine more than CR7’s team. Al Ittihad, meanwhile, was in fifth place with 37 points and lost the chance to climb to fourth place.
Al Hilal and Al Ittihad, face to face again for the Asian Champions
Next Tuesday, from 3 p.m. in Argentina, both teams will play in one of the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League. The first match will be played again on the Al Hilal field and a week later the series will be defined on the Gallardo team’s field.
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