Sérgio Conceição sets the pace, Al-Ittihad on the up in Saudi league | OneFootball

Al-Ittihad secured their fourth consecutive victory – their third in the Saudi Arabian league – this Wednesday, by winning away at Neom SC (1-3). A decisive goal from the Portuguese player Roger helped Sérgio Conceição's team temporarily reclaim fifth place.

The Portuguese coach started with the former Sporting de Braga player as well as Danilo Pereira, ex-FC Porto, against a side managed by Christophe Galtier, who included Luís Maximiano, ex-Sporting, in the home starting eleven.

In the first quarter of an hour, Roger broke the deadlock, heading in at the far post for 0-1 and giving the reigning champions an early lead in the match played in Tabuk, just a few hours before the close of 2025.

Al-Ittihad slowed down after their dominant start and ended up conceding the equalizer within the first half hour. In the 27th minute, Said Benrahma, formerly of Olympique Lyon and West Ham, converted a direct free kick that hit the post before going in, scoring a real screamer.

Sérgio Conceição's team returned with an attacking mindset for the second half and created the best chances, one of them by Karim Benzema, but the goal would only come just after the midway point of the second half.

In the 69th minute, Steven Bergwijn found himself alone in the box and made it 1-2, after a good play down the right wing by Diaby.

When Neom SC was pressing for another equalizer, Ahmed Alghamdi definitively settled the match in stoppage time, making it 1-3 at 90+6′, in a move where Luís Maximiano came off his line somewhat rashly.

How are the standings?

With this win, Al-Ittihad now has 20 points and occupies fifth place, two points ahead of Al-Qadisiyah, who still face Al-Shabab this Wednesday, and three points ahead of Neom, who are seventh with 17.

The reigning champions thus return to the top 5, sitting 11 points behind leaders Al Nassr (31), who feature Cristiano Ronaldo, João Félix, and Jorge Jesus, and eight points off second place, held by Al-Taawon (28). Al Nassr, with Rúben Neves and João Cancelo, are in third place with 26 points and a game in hand. Al-Ahli Jeddah are fourth, with 22 points.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.