Al Ittiad, coached by Portugal’s Nuno Espirito Santo, and Al Hilal, coached by Jorge Jesus, won 3-0 and 3-1 at home against Abha and Al Raed respectively in the first round of the Saudi Football League today.
It took some time for the defending champions to gain the upper hand, but in the second half they didn’t give Al Raed a chance with three unanswered goals in the 58th, 73rd and 79th minutes, the first of which was scored by Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah after an assist . Frenchman Karim Benzema, and the rest Brazilian midfielder Igor Coronado.
Portugal under-21 Jota, signed this season from Scottish side Celtic, was not in the starting line-up but was introduced to Nuno Espirito Santo in the 76th minute, replacing Brazil’s Romarinho.
In addition to Nuno Espirito Santo and Jota, there was another Portuguese on the field, referee Luis Godinho, who directed the match.
Al-Hilal also decided the match in their favor only in the second half after a one-goal draw at half-time, with Jorge Jesus’ team opening the scoring in the 31st minute thanks to Brazilian striker Malcolm, followed by Abha two minutes later. , Tunisian midfielder Saad Bgir restored the tie.
It was Malcolm who also scored the second and third goals with a “hat-trick” when he scored again in the 55th and 77th minutes.
The Portuguese Ruben Neves started in the midfield of Al Hilal and played all 90 minutes.
Coached by the Portuguese Luis Castro and whose greatest figure is Cristiano Ronaldo, Al Nasr will debut today in the 2023/24 championship at Al Ettifak starting at 19:00 (Portuguese time), after winning the Arab Champions Cup. on Saturday, beating the team coached by Jorge Jesus, Al-Hilal, 2-1 in the final.