Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — Aleksandar Mitrovic continued his impressive form in the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League, scoring a brace to lead Al Hilal to a convincing 3-1 victory over Al Ittihad at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City in the highly anticipated Saudi Clasico.
The match kicked off with an explosive start when N’Golo Kante delivered a long pass to Moussa Diaby, who slotted home within 23 seconds. However, the goal was disallowed for offside. Instead, it was Al Hilal that struck first. In the third minute, Malcome advanced down the right flank and set up Ruben Neves, whose inviting cross found Mitrovic. The Serbian forward headed home past his international teammate, Predrag Rajkovic, to open the scoring.
Rajkovic was kept busy early on, making a crucial save with his feet to deny Joao Cancelo from a tight angle and later producing a flying save to push away a curled free-kick from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. Despite his efforts, Rajkovic couldn’t stop Mitrovic from doubling the lead. After Renan Lodi was fouled in the box by Abdulelah Al Amri, Mitrovic stepped up and calmly slotted home from 12 yards, marking his eighth goal of the season in just four matches.
As Al Ittihad ramped up their offensive pressure, Yassine Bono made a fantastic diving save to deny Karim Benzema.
However, Al Hilal put the game beyond doubt thanks to a brilliant individual effort from captain Salem Al Dawsari. Neves picked up the ball deep in his own half and sent a long ball to Al Dawsari, who embarked on a 50-yard run before executing a confident dinked finish past Rajkovic.
Al Ittihad's efforts to get back into the match finally paid off, albeit too late. Substitute Saleh Al Shehri found Diaby in a promising position, who selflessly squared the ball for Benzema. The Al Ittihad captain calmly slotted it into an empty net, marking his fifth goal of the campaign.
This early Clasico victory not only ended Al Ittihad’s unbeaten record but also sent Jorge Jesus’ side clear at the top of the table, reaffirming Al Hilal’s dominance in the Saudi league.
