Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq Drop Points At Home in 0-0 Draw Against Al Wehda
Steven Gerrard and Al Ettifaq were frustrated by Al Wehda in a barren draw at home. They dropped points in their bid to climb the table and close the gap to the top sides in the Saudi Pro League’s run-in.
Playing at home, at the Abdullah Al Dabil Stadium, Al Ettifaq enjoyed a slight advantage in possession throughout the match, with 55% to Al Wehda’s 45%. They also edged the number of shots with 17 to 11 during the match.
However, Steven Gerrard’s side exposed some of their vulnerabilities that have hampered their competitiveness in the Saudi Pro League this season, including a lack of cutting edge in front of goal.
While they attempted 17 shots, they were limited to just 4 shots on target due to a combination of Al Ettifaq’s lack of penetrative play and creative spark and Al Wehda’s organized defense and solidity. Al-Ettifaq also gave away 11 shot attempts, with two on target.
The match was evenly split and lacked any creative spark for the two sides. The two goalkeepers did not have much, which reflected the quality of the play on display during the 90 minutes.
The frontline of Moussa Dembele, Demarai Gray, and Toko Ekambi failed to click into gear in the match. Their performance was a repeat of Steven Gerrard’s challenge throughout this season, as his blunt forward line has failed to create and take chances, thus leaving his side chasing games or fighting for draws.
Al Wehda’s center-back pairing of Al-Hafith and A. Makki easily handled the threat posed by Al Ettifaq. The home side’s midfield, comprising Fofana, Wijnaldum, and Medran, also failed to offer the creative spark needed to influence this match beyond keeping the ball and minimizing their abilities to break their lines and create chances.
The draw accurately reflected the quality of play and the level of competition the two sides displayed.
Al Ettifaq will travel to Al-Raed on Saturday to look to return to winning ways in the Saudi Pro League, whereas Al Wehda will be at home against bottom-of-the-league side Al-Hazem on Thursday.
