Karim Benzema scored twice in the 3-0 victory of Al-Sittihad on Al-Fayha on Sunday to help his team to relocate nine points clearly on the Saudi Pro League Summit.
Al-ittihad will now focus their focus on the collision of Al-Hilal against Al-Orobah on Monday, with their gap to the second team a healthy with three games of their season.
Benzema handed over the lead in the 24th minute and combined well with Unai Hernandez before his left strike in the nearby post of Orlando Mosquera was pressed.
The 37-year-old doubled his count nine minutes after the break and exchanged steps with Abdulrahman Al Obud before sending the ball in the top left corner.
That turned out to be the last action by Benzema, because it was replaced in the 57th minute after picking up an injury, although it didn't look serious enough to row it out of the title.
And even without their Talisman on the field, Al-Eittihad extended their lead with 15 minutes more thanks to the bizarre own goal of Mohammed Al Baqawi.
Earlier in the day, Al-Ahli missed the chance to close the gap to the top two in the division after he was defeated 3-1 by Al-Shabab.
Mohammed Al Thani opened the score for Al-Shabab in the 26th minute before Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah doubled the benefit of his silk six minutes later.
But Al-Ahli reduced the shortage nine minutes before the break when Gabri Veiga gathered the pass from Ivan Toney before he ended up past Heorhii Bushchan and in the bottom corner.
Hamed-Allah noted his brace in the 65th minute to restore the pillow of Al-Shabab's two goals, but broadcast 12 minutes later for two shows of different opinions opposite the referee.
But Al-Shabab was able to hold the last beating, making them sixth in the rankings and only six points behind Cristiano Ronaldos Al-Nassr.
Al-Ahil in the meantime fell to fourth place after Al-Qadsiah defeated Al-Taawoun on Sunday with 1-0, with the 61st-minute goal of Andrei Girotto the difference.
Data Debrief: Benzema leads the road for al-ittihad
In a game that was missing quality between Al-Eittihad and Al-Fayha, a match with a total expected goals (XG) of just 1.33, Benzema turned out to be the difference again.
He took his migration from league goals to 21 in 28 performances this season, while he also ended the game with team -high Totals for shots on Target (two) and touches in the opposition box (nine).
Al-ittihad indeed also surpassed their highest number of competition profits in the competition, with their latest victory their 23rd this season, giving in the 22 that they caught up in 2022-23.
And although he was sent away to Al-Shabab, Hamed-Allah also wrote history and only became the second player who scored 150 goals in the competition.
Abderrazak Hamedallah is only the second player to reach the 150 goalkeeping post in the #roshnsaudiLeague pic.twitter.com/un9hosxb29
– Roshn Saudi League (@pl_en) 11 May 2025