Benzema fires hat-trick in huge Al Ittihad 'Old Derby' win | OneFootball

Karim Benzema netted a fabulous hat-trick to fire Al Ittihad to a thumping 7-1 victory in “The Old Derby” in Jeddah on Sunday night – and lift his side top of the nascent 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League.

The Frenchman, the Al Ittihad captain, both opened and closed the scoring at a packed King Abdullah Sports City, grabbing his first with a superb strike on two minutes before adding his second right at the start of the second half. Benzema then sealed the match ball in the final minute, slamming home Muhannad Al Shanqiti’s cross from close range.

In between, Houssem Aouar continued his fine form since his summer move from AS Roma with a third goal in as many games to put the hosts 2-0 up on 13 minutes, only for Al Wehda’s Youssef Amyn to half the deficit just after the half hour.

However, former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho restored Al Ittihad's advantage in first-half injury-time, setting the platform for his team to run riot after the interval. Moments into the second half, Benzema drilled home a low shot following a second assist by debutant Steven Bergwijn, with Fawaz Al Yami and Saleh Al Shehri then putting the result out of reach.

Benzema, 36, rounded off the scoring on 89 minutes – his second RSL hat-trick – as Al Ittihad registered an empathic win to move top of the standings at this early stage, with three victories from three.

It was a night of many positives for the 2022-23 champions, with former Tottenham Hotspur winger Bergwijn making a brilliant bow having joined Al Ittihad on deadline day earlier this month, from Dutch side Ajax.

Meanwhile, fellow new boy Danilo Pereira was also given his first RSL appearance. The Portuguese, who arrived from French club Paris Saint-Germain, was deployed in central defence by manager Laurent Blanc. Also, another summer recruit, Moussa Diaby, grabbed four assists.

The triumph, which rounded off Matchweek 3, sets up perfectly next Saturday’s Saudi Clasico between Al Ittihad and Al Hilal. The reigning champions have also made a 100 percent start to the campaign, as have Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq.