Al-Hilal overcame the setback of its exit from the AFC Champions League by achieving a valuable victory over its guest, Al-Fateh, with a score of 3-1, after it was late in the match that took place at the “Kingdom Arena” stadium this evening, Saturday, in the 29th round of the Saudi Professional League.

Al Hilal exited the Champions League in the semi-finals at the hands of Al Ain, UAE, with an aggregate score of 4-5, last Tuesday.

Al-Hilal, which was missing Salem Al-Dosari and Malcolm Oliveira alongside Aleksandar Mitrovic, strengthened its lead in the Saudi League standings with 80 points, 12 points ahead of Al-Nasr, the second-place team, after 28 matches for each of them.

With this victory, Al-Zaeem maintained its series of victories in the league by achieving the 21st consecutive victory, knowing that it is the only team that has not lost so far.

As for Al-Fateh, which missed Murad Batna, its score froze at 40 points in sixth place.

Al-Fateh took the lead first through Lucas Zelarian in the 57th minute, but Al-Hilal equalized one minute later with the signing of Michael Delgado.

Ruben Neves scored Al Hilal's second goal in the 74th minute from a penalty kick, while Ali Al Bulayhi scored with a third goal in the 90th + 14th minute.

Lost scissors

Jorge Jesus relied on midfielder Sergei Savic in the clear spearhead position, while he kept Saleh Al-Shehri and Abdullah Al-Hamdan on the bench, indicating his lack of conviction in them.

The first threat from Al Hilal came after 13 minutes, when Neves sent a high long ball to which Nasser Al Dosari rose and headed it to the side of the left post.

Michael started from the right side and played a cross to Savic inside the six-yard area in the 19th minute, but Ammar Al-Dahim saved the situation at the last minute.

The pressure of the hosts continued, and Mohamed Kanno almost scored one of the best goals of the season after he received a cross on his chest, and played it with a scissor kick that passed next to the post in the 28th minute.

Quick response

Al-Fateh entered the second half with great attacking force, compared to the beginning of the match, hoping to snatch points in the match, while its attempts resulted in the first goal.

Zelarayan scored a goal with a low shot that missed goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, after he received a through ball from his teammate Christian Teu.

It did not take long for Al Hilal to respond. In less than one minute, Michel equalized with a goal from a header that crossed the goal line, confirmed by the “Hawk Eye” technique, after following up on a rebound from goalkeeper Jacob Reyne.

Jesus decided to push all his offensive cards after an hour of play, so he included the trio Saleh Al-Shehri, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, and Muhammad Al-Qahtani at the expense of Salman Al-Faraj, Muhammad Kanno, and Nasser Al-Dosari.

Al-Qahtani won a penalty kick, which Neves converted into a goal after shooting it to the left of the goalkeeper

In stoppage time, Al-Bulaihi increased Al-Zaeem's lead with a goal from a follow-up to a ball that bounced off the goalkeeper inside the six-yard area.