Al-Hilal equaled their own record for the biggest win in the history of the Saudi Pro League on Thursday, humiliating Al Fateh with a 9-0 win to stay top of the table.
The reigning national champions, who scored nine goals past Al-Hazem early in the invincible 2023/2024 season, were helped on their way by a hat-trick from Marcos Leonardo.
Initially they had to remain patient, with Kalidou Koulibaly opening the scoring after 20 minutes and Renan Lodi doubling the lead in the 39th minute, but Leonardo's first goal – a penalty in first-half stoppage time – opened the floodgates.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic made it 4-0 in the ninth minute of first-half extra time, before Leonardo got his second nine minutes after the restart to further extend the lead.
Leonardo's hat-trick goal was assisted by Ruben Neves just after the hour mark, before Abdullah Al Hamddan and Malcom struck late to put Al-Hilal within reach of their record margin of victory.
Faisal Al Abdulwahed's own goal in the 98th minute made it 9-0 before the struggling visitors saw Ziyad Al Jari sent off for denying a clear scoring opportunity.
Al Fateh avoided double figures in the final two minutes of stoppage time, although they sit bottom of the table with just six points, six of which are from safety.
My team pic.twitter.com/98Lor46kRK
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) January 16, 2025
That win gave Jorge Jesus' leaders three points clear of title rivals Al-Ittihad, but goals from Karim Benzema and Steven Bergwijn helped the challengers claw back that deficit with a 4-1 win over Al-Raed.
Real Madrid icon Benzema pounced with a close-range finish to put Al-Ittihad ahead in the 21st minute, before Bergwijn struck from the edge of the D on the stroke of half-time.
Naif Hazazi's left-footed finish halved the deficit in the second half but Abdulrahman Al Obud and Houssem Aouar scored to put some shine on the scoreline for Al-Ittihad, who remain second on goal difference.
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