JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad beat Al-Fateh 2-0 on Sunday to move two points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League, completing a perfect weekend for the Jeddah giants with title rivals Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr both losing.
Second half goals from Fabinho and Houssem Aouar means Al-Ittihad have 30 points from 11 games, two clear of Al-Hilal in second and eight ahead of Al-Nassr in third.
It was a hard-fought game against the bottom team. The Tigers thought they had taken the lead after 16 minutes, Saleh Al-Shehri firing home when a corner found its way to the far post, but the ball was judged to have bounced off Fabinho’s hand.
There were few other clear chances. Al-Fateh may have started the day at the very foot of the table, but they knew a victory would take them out of the bottom three and even a point would be welcome.
Al-Ittihad redoubled their efforts after the break but with so many white shirts in and around the penalty area it was three minutes before the hour until Fabinho showed his class. Mario Mitaj passed from the left of the area and the former Liverpool midfielder reacted quickly, wrong-footing the goalkeeper as he steered the ball inside the near post.
Steven Bergwijn almost sealed the win with 17 minutes remaining, but Peter Szappanos got a hand to the shot to keep Al-Fateh in the game.
There was nothing he could do as Aouar struck in the last minute, however, sweeping home a fine cross from Abdulrahman Al-Oboud.
Earlier in the day, Ettifaq drew 0-0 at Al-Riyadh, a result that did nothing to relieve the pressure on coach Steven Gerrard who has now seen his team go eight games without a win.
