Karim Benzema, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Cristiano Ronaldo Score for Their Respective Teams to Deliver Victories
On Friday, matchday five fixtures for Al Nassr, Al Qadsiah, and Al Ittihad saw famous faces on the scoresheet, and all three teams sealed victories. Karim Benzema scored from open play while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Cristiano Ronaldo both converted penalties.
Al Nassr faced off with early-season relegation candidates Al Wehda and won 2-0. In the 56th minute, Sultan Al Ghannam was fouled in the Al Wehda box, and Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take the resulting penalty. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward made no mistake and scored to make it four goals so far this season.
Earlier on, youngster Ângelo Gabriel had opened the scores in the 41st minute. The Brazilian latched onto a Sadio Mane pass and chipped the Al Wehda goalkeeper. The well-taken goal was an impressive way to open his Saudi Pro League account, especially given that Ronaldo was open and in a much better position should Ângelo have opted to pass to him instead of going for goal.
Former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s solitary goal was enough for Al Qadsiah to claim victory against Al Ahli Saudi. Aubameyang stepped up in the 43rd minute and made no mistakes from the spot as he got on the scoresheet for the first time in the Saudi Pro League.
The win was a return to winning ways after a draw and a loss in Al Qadsiah’s previous two matches. The contest was fairly matched with Al Qadsiah’s victory down to their resilient defense. Al Ahli’s Ivan Toney and Riyad Mahrez were busy throughout the match but were not a match for the Al Qadsiah defense.
Finally, Al Ittihad demolished Al Khaleej 4-1 in a Karim Benzema-inspired second-half comeback. Khaled Narey opened the scoring in the 5th minute with a sublime lob over Al Ittihad’s goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
At halftime, Al Ittihad manager Laurent Blanc responded to the game and took off both his fullbacks to kill off the Al Ahli momentum. A few minutes into the second half, Benzema exchanged short passes with Houssem Aouar and scored the equalizer in the 49th minute.
In the 56th minute, Aouar headed a Muath Faqihi cross to put the hosts ahead. Twelve minutes later, N’Golo Kante breezed through the center of the park and passed the ball to Moussa Diaby, who then set up Steven Bergwijn for a tap-in to make it 3-1. Kante’s substitute, Hamed Al Ghamdi, then scored from a Karim Benzema pass in the 95th minute to finish the game at 4-1.
The win saw Al Ittihad temporarily move to the top of the table, but they were moved to second place within 24 hours after Al Hilal extended their winning streak this season to five games.
