Al-Hilal beats Al-Orobah and postpones Al-Ittihad’s title in the Saudi championship
Benzema will have to win his next match to take the title
Today we could have had a champion in Saudi Arabia, but Al Hilal thrashed Al Orobah 4-0 , forcing the team led by former Real Madrid player Karim Benzema to win their next match to secure the title. This Thursday we could have a champion.
Neymar’s former team captain, Salem , was the star of the match, always leading Al Hilal’s attacks , and he provided the assist for Mitrovic to open the scoring. Al Zubaidi’s red card in the second half sealed the match, as from then on, Salem (64′) and Caio César’s double in the 90th and 91st minutes put the game to bed . Al Ittihad will have to wait a couple more days for their title.
Al Hilal came into the match under pressure that a loss would make the ‘tigers’ champions, so they came out with everything from the first minute, but without converting their chances, until in the 28th minute, Salem invented a great play to put a magnificent cross to Mitrovic who left him alone and put the score at 1-0.
The first 45 minutes were a constant monologue from the home side . Al Orobah couldn’t even get close to the ball, so much so that Al Hilal finished with 72% possession! But they didn’t score any more goals.
The second half started like the first, but with the added incentive of Al Zubaidi’s sending off two minutes into the match, it would be the beginning of the end for Al Orobah. In the 64th minute, Salem received a ball inside the box and, with all the composure in the world, chipped it over Coucke to make it 2-0.
Al Hilal kept trying, but to no avail. It was a constant siege, even more so now that they were down to one more man. The changes made by Jorge Jesús’s successor on the bench, Al-Shalhoub, revolutionized the match, especially Caio César.
First, the linesman ruled out a great goal from a collective move in the 85th minute , but five minutes later , Caio won a penalty, which he himself took and scored, making it 3-0. While the fans were still cheering, Malcom invented a great backheel assist for the young Brazilian to score again, completing his double and making it 4-0.
We still don’t have a champion, but it’s just a matter of days. The Azulones are still six points behind Tigres, with nine points to play for and their goal average down. A catastrophe would have to happen for the team from the capital to not win the tournament.
