Al-Hilal Shines at the Expense of Al-Ahli Shabab

In one of his finest performances, and in front of a large crowd at the Kingdom Arena, English international striker Ollie Watkins restored Al Hilal Saudi Arabia to the path of victory by scoring a two-goal win against their guests, Al Ahli of the UAE, 2-0, in the final match of the fourth round of the unified group of the West region of the AFC Champions League Elite.

In the first match held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Al Hilal secured the top spot against Al Ahli with a clean 2-0 victory, with Watkins scoring in the 6th and 46th minutes.

Al Hilal avenged their surprising 1-3 defeat to home side Al Shabab in the third round, securing their third win in the competition and raising their tally to nine points, moving them up to second place, three points behind the league leaders, Al Ain of the UAE, who remain unbeaten. Meanwhile, Al Ahli Dubai suffered their first loss after three consecutive victories, dropping to fourth place.

Al Hilal imposed their dominance from the outset, converting it into an early goal through Watkins, who capitalized on a through ball from the center of the pitch delivered by Senegal national team captain Khalidou Coubaliba, who fired it with his right foot into the net (6th minute).

Sabri Lamouchi missed a chance to score a second goal (15th minute), followed by a dangerous shot from Muteb Al Harbi (29th minute).

Al Hilal extended their lead early in the second half, as Watkins found the back of the net following a precise through pass from Turkish substitute Yusuf Akçay (46th minute).

Al Ahli became more active in the final minutes, threatening Al Hilal’s goal with a header from Belgian player Faouzi Ghoulam (85th minute) and a dangerous shot from Matheus Lima (88th minute), but Moroccan international goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made heroic efforts to keep his goal inviolate.