Sérgio Conceição's Al Ittihad, featuring Danilo Pereira as a starter, lost (1-3) to Al Ahli, ending a six-game unbeaten streak. Fabinho scored the only goal for Al Ittihad (51') from a penalty, but Wenderson Galeno, in his reunion with Conceição, assisted the first two goals for Al Ahli, scored by Ivan Toney (23') and Mahrez (59'), getting the better of the coach he met at FC Porto. Firas Al-Buraikan (84') sealed the result. Meanwhile, Al Hilal welcomed back Karim Benzema, who is no longer sidelined with adductor injuries, and he scored twice (43' and 81') in a 4-0 victory over bottom-placed Al Najma. Malcom (84') and Milinkovic-Savic (86') added to the scoreline late in the game. As a result, Al Ahli leads the league with 62 points, one ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr, Jorge Jesus, and João Félix, and Al Hilal. However, Al Nassr has a game in hand and will face Neom this Saturday, in a match where CR7 will not participate due to injury. Other Portuguese players had no luck this Friday in the Saudi league: Jorge Fernandes was a starter in defense for Al Fateh, which lost (2-3) to Al Taawoun. Fábio Martins' Al Hazem also lost, 1-2, away to Al Khaleej.
Defeat Doesn Help Cristiano Ronaldo remains central to this story.
Defeat Doesn Help Cristiano Ronaldo remains central to this story.
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