RIYADH: Saturday night saw Al-Hilal beat Al-Fateh 2-1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, reducing Al-Ittihad’s lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League to just one point.
Al-Hilal’s city rivals could widen the gap again to four points, however, when they host Al-Khaleej Club on Sunday in the final match of the SPL’s ninth round.
Al-Fateh took a shock lead after just nine minutes, thanks to Moroccan forward Mourad Batra. Al-Hilal restored parity on 26 minutes when Kalidou Koulibaly’s defense-splitting pass allowed Darwin Nunez to round visiting goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco and slot into an empty net.
Nasser Al-Dawsari’s straight red card on 79 minutes threatened to derail Al-Hilal’s efforts to keep the pressure on at the top of the table, but a Reuben Neves penalty nine minutes later ensured the three points stayed in Riyadh.
The win means Al-Hilal sit in second with 23 points from nine matches. Al-Fateh drop to 16th with only five points from the same number of games.
Earlier on Saturday, Al-Najma secured a 0-0 draw at Damac while AL-Ettifaq cruised to a 3-0 home win over Al-Fayha.
