Fabinho and Aouar Send Al Ittihad to The Top of the Table After 2-0 Victory Against Al Fateh
Al Ittihad went into their contest against Al Fateh knowing they needed to take advantage of Al Hilal’s stumbles 24 hours earlier to stamp their title credentials. Laurent Blanc’s men proved they were up to the challenge, with Fabinho and Houssem Aouar scoring to make it 2-0 and take them to the top of the table.
There were plenty of sideshows prior to the match. First, the team received news that striker Karim Benzema, who is the club’s top scorer this season with eight goals, will be on the injury list for one more week. Then Moussa Diaby, who is the Saudi Pro League’s top assists maker with 10, is expected to be out for about eight weeks with an ankle injury. With two of the most impactful players on the squad out, the pressure was on.
The first half was uneventful, with the only noteworthy events being a Steven Bergwijn miss and a Saleh Al Shehri goal, which was ruled out after a VAR review.
Whatever Blanc told his men at halftime was enough to deliver a completely different second half. Al Ittihad were clinical and determined, and a well-worked team move found Fabinho slotted it into the bottom corner to put the hosts ahead. They would leave it until the 89th minute to score a second through a counterattack, with Al Fateh pushing ahead for an equalizer. A pass from Abdulrahman Al Obud found Houssem Aouar at the near post, and he made it 2-0. This was his 6th goal of his first season in the SPL.
Al Ittihad have now gone on a seven-match winning streak, and with Al Hilal losing to Al Khaleej earlier, they are at the top of the table with 30 points, ahead of Al Hilal, who have 28 points.
