Benzema seals emphatic win in Saudi Clasico to increase Al Ittihad's lead at summit | OneFootball

Al Ittihad took a huge step towards the Roshn Saudi League title on Saturday with a thumping 4-1 victory against Al Hilal in the Saudi Clasico.

The league leaders prevailed in the top-of-the-table clash at a packed Alinma Stadium in Jeddah thanks to a Steven Bergwijn double and goals from Hassan Kadesh and Karim Benzema.

Marcos Leonardo had actually opened the scoring for Al Hilal midway through the first half, the Brazilian poking home Joao Cancelo’s cross to give the RSL champions the perfect start. It marked Leonardo’s 14th goal of his superb debut campaign in the Kingdom.

However, Kadesh equalised for Al Ittihad on the half hour when he headed in from a Moussa Diaby cross, increasing the former Aston Villa winger’s lead at the top of the 2024-25 assist charts, with 12.

The match then swung completely in the hosts’ favour either side of half-time. First, Bergwijn got on the end of another Diaby cross and, at the second attempt, headed past Yassine Bounou in the Al Hilal goal.

The Dutchman, another enjoying a superb first season in the RSL, made it 3-1 six minutes after the break, this time meeting N’Golo Kante’s pull-back to increase his side’s advantage.

There was still time for Benzema to wrap up a memorable night for Al Ittihad, the club captain volleying home his 16th goal of the league campaign to draw level with Al Nassr counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the scoring charts.