Sports
Al-Hilal beats Al-Ittihad 3-2 to clinch Saudi Pro League summit clash
October 10, 2026 at 08:29 PM · Updated 5d ago
Coverage
17 reports · over 13 hours
Al-Hilal defeated Al-Ittihad 3-2 in the Saudi Pro League's round-eight top-of-the-table clash at the Kingdom Arena on Saturday, claiming its seventh win of the season.
- Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring in the 11th minute, and Ollie Watkins doubled Al-Hilal's lead in the 30th.
- Youssef En-Nesyri equalized for Al-Ittihad in the 22nd minute, and Steven Bergwijn converted an 89th-minute penalty for the visitors.
- Al-Hilal rose to 21 points at the top of the table, while Al-Ittihad suffered its first league defeat, remaining on 17 points.
- Watkins had a goal disallowed by VAR for handball in first-half stoppage time, a decision referee expert Saad Al-Kuthairi declared correct.
- Dutch winger Crescêncio Summerville scored Al-Hilal's third goal in the 64th minute, ending a roughly 40-day scoring drought.
- Al-Ittihad coach Jens Wesing said his players gave everything but must learn from their mistakes, defending his selection choices.
- Before kickoff, Al-Hilal honored Al-Ittihad's Hassan Kadesh and Mukhtar Ali for Saudi Arabia's Gulf Cup victory.
- Al-Ittihad striker Youssef En-Nesyri blamed the referee as a key factor in the defeat, while acknowledging his team's errors and praising Al-Hilal.
- After the final whistle, Al-Ittihad players En-Nesyri and Predrag Rajkovic angrily confronted referee Khalid Al-Turais over a late throw-in call, and security escorted the official off.
- Egyptian refereeing expert Samir Mahmoud Othman praised Khaled Al-Turais' overall performance but said added time should have been extended for stoppages.
- Al-Hilal striker Ollie Watkins criticized referee Khalid al-Turais, insisting his first-half goal was wrongly disallowed for handball.
- Al-Ittihad defender Jan-Carlo Simic blamed individual mistakes for the 2-3 loss and insisted the defeat will not define the team's season.















