RIYADH: Al-Ittihad leapfrogged Al-Ahli to claim top spot in the Saudi Pro League after a 4-1 win over Al-Khaleej on Friday night, with the reigning champions still to play on Saturday.
The visitors shocked the home crowd by taking a fifth-minute lead thanks to Khaled Narey, which they held until half-time.
But after the break Al-Ittihad rediscovered the form that saw them beat Al-Wehda 7-1 two weeks ago and scored four times in a dominant second half performance.
Karim Benzem kick-started the comeback four minutes after the break and there were further goals from Houssem Amour (56), Steven Bergwijn (68) and Hamed Al-Ghamdi (stoppage time).
The Jeddah club, champions two seasons ago, now sit top of the SPL standings with 12 points from five matches but will drop to second if Al-Hilal — with a perfect record after four matches — get at least a draw against Al-Kholood at home on Saturday night.
Meanwhile Al-Nassr managed to record their second win in a row for the first time this season when they beat Al-Wehda 2-0 in Riyadh. Angelo Gabriel opened the scoring on 41 minutes before Cristiano Ronaldo wrapped up the win with a penalty in the 56th minute. Al-Nassr now sit in third place with 11 points.
In Friday’s other match, a difficult week for Al-Ahli — which saw them suffer a shock exit in the King’s Cup — got worse. They lost 1-0 at the hands of newly promoted Al-Qadsiah, thanks to a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty on 43 minutes, his first SPL goal for the Aramco-owned club.
