Al-Ittihad secur෴ed a 1-1 draw in the 93rd minutꦛe at Al-Fayha but still lost ground in the Saudi Pro League title race after Al-Hilal trounced Al-Orobah 5-0.
Laurent Blanc's Al-Ittihad entered Saturday's slate of games with a two-point lead at the summit, only to be overtaken when Al-Hilal eased to victor🦩y in the early kick-off.
The reigning champions were untroubled after Ruben Neves – returning to the lineup following a long inj🐽ury lay-off – scored a 16th-minute penalty that gave them the lead, though they had to wait until the second half to make the points safe.
Captain Ali Al Bulay🃏hi doubled their advantage three minutes after the interval, with Renan Lodi adding a third before Marcos Leonardo's late brace added some gloss to the scoreline.
That result put Jorge Jesus' men one poin🤪t clear at the top, and they ended the day in the ascendency due to goal difference after Al-Ittihad could only manage a draw.
It could have been even worse for Al-Ittihad, who went behind to Fashon Sakala's 91st-minute strik💧e after failing to convert two penalties.
Karim Benzema had a 57th-minute spot-kick repelled by Orlando Mosquera, who also stood firm to deny Houssem Aouar from 12 yardꦛs with two minutes of the 90 remaining.
But Al-Fayha's hopes of a dream win were dashed three minutes into second-half stoppage time, as Fawaz Al So🐠qoor fizzed a shot into the bottom-left corner to spar🌠e Al-Ittihad what would have been a second loss of the campaign.
