Al-Ittihad have earned a narrow 1-0 victory against Al-Akhdoud in their first Saudi Pro League game after the international break.
The Jeddah giants were looking to turn their form around after suffering their first defeat of the season to arch-rivals Al-Hilal two weeks ago.
Just hours before their encounter against newly-promoted Al-Akhdoud, Al-Ittihad were dealt a huge blow as Brazil’s Igor Coronado and summer-signing Jota were both ruled out of the game.
Moroccan goal machine Abderrazak Hamdallah also missed out on the clash as his name was excluded from Al-Ittihad’s travelling squad.
Karim Benzema was also said to be doubtful, but the Frenchman was deemed fit by head coach Nuno Espirito Santo as he made the starting lineup.
Their latest acquisition from Real Betis, Luiz Felipe, also made his highly-anticipated debut after arriving for £18.9 million on a three-year contract.
The opening minutes saw both sides struggle to find their rhythm with Al-Ittihad’s makeshift squad failing to create any real threat in attack.
The visitors had their first sight of goal in the 16th minute as Benzema found himself in a good shooting position but his left-footed strike was easy to gather for Al-Akhdoud’s Paulo Vítor.
A resolute Al-Akhdoud kept the champions at bay in the first half but Santo’s side remained keen on getting all three points.
Their best move came near the hour mark as Benzema found Romarinho in a pocket of space but the latter couldn’t find the back of the net as his finish forced a stunning save from Vitor.
Al-Ittihad finally found the breakthrough and took the lead after 72 minutes as Benzema opened the scoring late in the game.
The 35-year-old capitalised on a bounce inside in the box and executed an improvised finish on the half-volley beyond Vitor to net his third of the campaign.
Despite late attempts from the hosts, Al-Ittihad managed to keep a clean sheet and secure the victory to lead the Saudi Pro League table temporarily with 15 points after six games.