Late fightback from Al-Khaleej falls short in 3-2 thriller as title race narrows to a single point ahead of leaders’ Saturday fixture.
DUBAI — The Saudi Pro League title race intensified on Friday as Al-Hilal secured a nervy 3-2 victory over Al-Khaleej, moving within one point of rivals Al-Nassr at the summit.
Simone Inzaghi’s side momentarily climbed to second place and piled pressure on Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, who face Al-Okhdood on Saturday knowing anything less than a win could see their lead vanish.
Al-Hilal appeared to be cruising after building a comfortable three-goal advantage. Mohammed Kanno broke the deadlock in the 18th minute with a fierce long-range strike, before Sergej Milinković-Savić doubled the lead before halftime. Malcom extended the margin to 3-0 just before the hour mark, seemingly sealing the points.
However, Al-Khaleej mounted a stunning late rally. Joshua King pulled one back in the 79th minute, and Giorgos Masouras made it 3-2 just five minutes later, setting up a tense finale. Al-Hilal held firm in the closing stages to claim a vital win that keeps their title hopes firmly alive.
The result pushes Al-Khaleej down to eighth, while Al-Hilal overtake Al-Taawoun, who had earlier risen to second with a 2-0 away win over Al-Kholood. Al-Taawoun finished with ten men after Muteb Al-Mufarrij’s late red card but had already secured the victory through goals from Christopher Zambrano and an own goal from William Troost-Ekong.
In Friday’s early match, Al-Fateh staged a comeback to defeat reigning Asian champions Al-Ahli 2-1. After falling behind to Valentin Atangana’s first-half strike, two goals from María Vargas sealed an important home win, lifting Al-Fateh to 14th while Al-Ahli remain fourth.
All eyes now turn to Saturday’s fixtures, where Al-Nassr will aim to restore their four-point advantage in a league campaign growing increasingly dramatic by the week.
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