King’s Cup Holders Al Hilal are into the Final After Overcoming Rivals Al Ittihad 1-2
Saudi Pro League leaders Al Hilal are into the King’s Cup final after a 1-2 victory against rivals Al Ittihad.
With Brazilian Neymar and Serbian Aleksandr Mitrovic, their two marquee strikers, missing, Al Hilal had to devise a way to bolster its firepower against Al Ittihad, which was desperate to keep its silverware hopes alive.
In the end, Neymar’s Brazilian compatriot, Malcolm, stepped up to the plate in the semi-final. With brilliant playmaking, he created both goals against Al Ittihad. The former Zenit forward created three chances in total and had a pass accuracy of 92.6%, the best in the match.
Al Ittihad struggled in the match without their talismanic striker Karim Benzema. They lacked the firepower they needed to make their numerical advantage on Tuesday count after Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was sent off for Al Hilal just before halftime.
Michael scored the only goal in the first half, striking in the 25th minute to give Al Hilal the lead. With Milinkovic-Savic sent off ahead of the second half, Al Hilal had to adjust to ensure they absorbed pressure from the hosts.
Abderrazak Hamdallah leveled the score in the 67th minute to give Al Ittihad hope. However, their numerical advantage did not favor them in the match due to their inability to curve open Al Hilal’s shape.
Saud Abdulhamid struck the match’s decisive goal in the 81st minute, giving Al Hilal the lead and sending them to the King’s Cup of Champions final, where they will face the match winner between Al Nassr and Al Khaleej.
