Al-Hilal wrapped up the Roshn Saudi League title with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Al-Hazem on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The victory means that Al-Hilal have now extended their Saudi Pro League record to 19 championships © X
Al-Hilal wrapped up the Roshn Saudi League title with a comprehensive 4-1 win over Al-Hazem on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The victory means that Al-Hilal have now extended their Saudi Pro League record to 19 championships.
Al-Nassr’s 3-2 win over Al-Okhdood on Thursday had delayed Al-Hilal’s coronation for two days at least, but Jorge Jesus and his men knew a win or draw against Al-Hazem would be enough to clinch the title.
Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic, one of the signings of the season, got the party underway with a penalty after 15 minutes but, with nine minutes of the first half left, an unscripted moment saw Faiz Selemani score with a fine left-foot strike after being put through on goal.
Al-Hazem’s joy did not last long however, with Ahmed Al-Juwaid gifting Al-Hilal the lead five minutes later with a bizarre own goal that sailed over goalkeeper Zaid Al-Malki’s head.
The home team scented blood and proceeded to put the result, and the title race, to bed with two goals in first-half added time.
Mitrovic side-footed home from countryman Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s cross from the left in the 48th minute of the half, and the assister turned goalscorer three minutes later to give Al-Hilal a 4-1 lead at the break.
With Al-Hilal fans already in celebratory mood and the title all but confirmed by the break, the second period inevitably saw the home team take their foot off the pedal.
VAR ruled out what would have been Al-Hazem’s second goal in added time and moments later the final whistle went to confirm the championship for Al-Hilal.
Their fans could finally celebrate a title win that had been on the cards for several weeks.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants fired on Saudi oil installations in two ports on the Red Sea coast on Saturday, but the United States held back from launching air strikes on Iran itself for the first night in two weeks.
Yemen is edging towards the resumption of a more than decade-old frozen conflict, Yemeni officials, Western diplomats and analysts say, as attacks on Saudi infrastructure and shipping by Iran-aligned Houthis test the patience of the kingdom and the Yemeni government forces it backs.
President Donald Trump said Thursday that a civilian nuclear cooperation deal signed with Saudi Arabia a day earlier is "totally subject" to the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords, adding a significant condition that was not part of the original agreement as announced.
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