Benzema could not save Al Ittihad

The new stars who moved from Europe all shined, giving football fans in Saudi Arabia a spectacular match.

As defending champions and playing at home, Al Ittihad entered the game better and took the lead thanks to Romarinho's goal.

However, receiving a cross from Saud Abdulhamid, Mitrovic volleyed a skillful one-touch volley to equalize the score for Al Hilal. Nearly 20 minutes later, Benzema spoke up with a clever move to catch Ahmed Bamsaud's cross. His heel strike was not strong, but surprising enough to send goalkeeper Bono into the net to pick up the ball a second time.

In the eighth minute of injury time of the first half, Abderazak Hamdallah widened the gap for the home team. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's forward pass gave the Al Ittihad striker a chance and Hamdallah did not miss it like he did when he shot out not long ago. In the stands, Al Ittihad fans were excited at the prospect of the home team winning the fifth consecutive match.

However, the second half was completely under the away team's control. Mitrovic proved that he is the brightest star on the field in this match, not Benzema. In the 60th minute, the Serbian striker caught goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe off guard with a close-range header before successfully attacking the rebound.

Five minutes later, when Al Hilal were awarded a penalty, Mitrovic deceived Grohe to equalize the score for the away team. The former Fulham striker completed his superb performance in the 71st minute. With excellent heading skills, he passed the ball to Salem Al Dawsari from close range, putting Al Hilal ahead for the first time.

With nearly 20 minutes left, along with 12 minutes of extra time, Al Ittihad could not subdue the opponent's defense once more and had to admit defeat at home. The best opportunity they missed was when Benzema poked a slot for Muhannad Shanqeeti to run down. But this substitute midfielder could not beat Bono in the face-off.

The victory helped Al Hilal overcome their opponents to take the top spot with 13 points after four wins and one draw. Before this round, Al Ittihad was one of only two teams to win all along with Al Ahli but this result puts them in danger of relegating to fourth.