Al Ittihad came with joyful dance steps after a comfortable 2-1 win over Al Riyadh in a match that had remarkable moments and action. Softfootball had rightly predicted in their pre-match coverage that Al Ittihad will defeat Al Radya with a 2-1 result.
Al Ittihad immediately gained control of the game from the beginning and in the 24th minute Karim Benzema gave the first goal after an excellent assist from Moussa Diaby. With this Al Ittihad had an early advantage and proceeded with the game.
This shows how focused Karim Benzema is at performing his best at Al Ittihad despite being unsure if his future at the club. Al Riyadh fought back consistently and by the time the first half was close to an, they knew things weren’t going the way they expected.
And then came the 42nd minute which left shock and the mouths of Al Riyadh supporters agape when Mohammed Alkhaibari accidentally kicked the ball into his own net and gave Al Ittihad a very easy 2-0.
That mistake made the match harder for Al Riyadh until the referee blew for halftime with the score still at 2-0. The second half started with both teams making necessary adjustments.
Al Ittihad continued to control the match, while Al Riyadh tried to get back into the game. In the 73rd minute, Moussa Diaby was given a red card but Al Ittihad didn’t fret so much.
Despite the disadvantage, Al Ittihad comfortably played on, maintaining composure all through. Al Riyadh didn’t back down and in the 77th minute, their effort finally paid off as Mamadou Sylla scored a goal after receiving a clean assist from Yahya Al Shehri.
This brought the game to 2-1 and increased pressure for Al Ittihad as their opponents made further attempts to score more goals. But after eight minutes of extra time the final whistle was blown confirming a win for Al Ittihad.
After the game, Al Ittihad named Benzema the man of the match and shared a video of his performance in their official X handle,
It was a strong and disciplined performance from Al Ittihad while Al Riyadh will look to build on their late improvements.
