Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — Al-Ittihad made a dramatic comeback against Al-Khaleej, overturning an early deficit to secure a 4-1 victory, reclaiming their winning form in Round 5 of the Saudi Pro League.

After suffering a loss to Al-Hilal in the previous round, Al-Ittihad bounced back to claim three crucial points in a match that came alive in the second half, favoring the home team.

Al-Khaleej opened the scoring early through Khalid Nari in the fifth minute with a lob over Croatian goalkeeper Rajkovic. The visitors held onto their lead until the end of the first half.

In the second half, Karim Benzema equalized for Al-Ittihad in the 49th minute, and soon after, Houssem Aouar gave Al-Ittihad the lead in the 55th minute. Dutchman Steven Bergwijn added a third goal in the 67th minute, and substitute Hamed Al-Ghamdi sealed the victory with a fourth goal in stoppage time.

This important victory boosted Al-Ittihad's points tally to 12, while Al-Khaleej remained stuck on 4 points with their ongoing struggles.

Meanwhile, in Dammam, Al-Qadsiah clinched a valuable 1-0 win over Al-Ahli, with the sole goal coming from Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang via a first-half penalty.

Al-Qadsiah's win compounded the woes of Al-Ahli, who had recently been knocked out of the King’s Cup by lower-league side Al-Jandal, in one of the tournament’s biggest upsets so far.

Al-Qadsiah ended a two-game winless streak after losing to Al-Shabab and drawing with Al-Okhdood, raising their points tally to 10, while Al-Ahli remained on 7 points.