Milinkovic-Savic brace earns derby win for Al Hilal | OneFootball

Al Hilal came from a goal down to earn the three points in a fiercely contested Riyadh derby at Al Shabab Club Stadium thanks to a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic double.

Concluding Matchweek 12, the Saturday night clash brought together two sides that occupied fourth and second place respectively in the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League, with Al Shabab having been held to a draw by Al Okhdood in their previous outing. Meanwhile, Al Hilal’s most recent game saw their 18-month unbeaten run in the league come to a halt with a 3-2 defeat by Al Khaleej.

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On Saturday night, it took six minutes for the stadium to erupt into celebration as Al Shabab captain Abderrazak Hamdallah headed home a Daniel Podence cross from the right after a quick counter-attack launched by midfield dup Musab Al Juwayr and Giacomo Bonaventura.

The goal, Hamdallah’s sixth against Al Hilal, brought him to within 10 goals of equalling Omar Al Somah’s record of 144 goals as the RSL’s all-time top scorer.

Before the quarter-hour mark, Al Hilal had regrouped and bagged their equaliser, thanks to Serbian midfielder Milinkovic-Savic. The former Lazio man rose highest to head home Joao Cancelo’s cross from the byline, restoring parity with his fourth RSL goal of the season.

Hamdallah had the ball in the back of the net again 10 minutes before the break, volleying home Mohammed Al Thani’s cushioned header, but the Moroccan’s second goal was overturned as offside following a VAR check.

Al Hilal suffered a major blow just before the half-time whistle when Hamdallah took on Kalidou Koulibaly following a quick counter attack. The former Napoli and Chelsea defender had no choice but to bring down the Moroccan and, being the last man, he was immediately shown red.

Fortunately for Al Hilal, it wasn’t long into the second half until their opponents faced the same fate. Centre-back Nader Al Sharari headed for an early shower too after apprehending Salem Al Dawsari as he advanced on goal, leaving the game to continue with 20 men on the pitch.

Immediately from the resulting free-kick, Al Hilal took the lead for the first time on the night. Once more it was Milinkovic-Savic on scoring duty, curling his set-piece brilliantly over the wall and into the top corner to make it 2-1.

A flurry of late chances produced little with Hamdallah and Cristian Guanca missing the target at one end of the pitch and Milinkovic-Savic coming within a whisker of completing his hat-trick on multiple occasions at the other end.

Ultimately, it was Al Hilal who returned to winning ways, ensuring the gap between them and leaders Al Ittihad doesn’t grow beyond two points, while opening a nine-point gap to now fifth-placed Al Shabab.

Al Hilal’s last game before the December break will see them welcoming Al Raed to Kingdom Arena, while Al Shabab will have the opportunity to make amends at home against rock-bottom Al Fateh.