Al-Ittihad 2-1 Al-Riyadh: Benzema ends scoring drought in narrow win

Al-Ittihad returned to winning ways in the Saudi Pro League with a 2-1 win against Al-Riyadh at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Sports City Stadium.

Karim Benzema scored for the first time in the league since his hat-trick in the opening game of the 2025-26 season before Mohammed Al Khaibari’s own-goal doubled their advantage, but Moussa Diaby’s red card led to a frantic finish after Mamadou Sylla’s 77th-minute strike.

Al-Ittihad took the lead after 24 minutes when Benzema played the ball out to the right wing for Diaby before getting into the box to head home from the winger’s cross, and Al Khaibari’s blunder moments before half-time gave them a much-needed cushion.

Benzema and Ahmed Al Ghamdi both went close to scoring a third for the hosts before a moment of madness from Diaby, who caught an opponent in the face with a trailing arm, saw Al-Riyadh gain all the momentum.

Talal Haji and Teddy Okou both forced outstanding saves from Predrag Rajkovic before Sylla managed to flick Yahya Al Shehri’s cross beyond the reach of the Al-Ittihad goalkeeper.

But despite being a man down, Al-Ittihad refused to sit back and defend in the final 15 minutes, with Fabinho even going close with two free-kick attempts as they secured a much-needed win at home.

What a celebration! pic.twitter.com/hAuDC4wyjM

— Al-Ittihad Club (@ittihad_en) November 21, 2025

Data Debrief: Diaby delight for Al-Ittihad

Al-Ittihad will be disappointed not to win with a clean sheet, but it was an impressive performance nonetheless. They produced 1.55 expected goals (xG) from 15 shots to Al-Riyadh’s 0.82 from seven attempts.

Diaby’s red card was Al-Ittihad’s third of the season, but the Frenchman made another vital contribution in the final third of the pitch for his side.

He has now contributed to eight goals in nine Saudi Pro League matches against Riyadh teams (three goals, five assists), including a goal and two assists against Al-Riyadh in three meetings.

The French winger also created the joint-second most chances for his team (two), recorded the most crosses (six) and completed the most dribbles (two).