Karim Benzema’s night ended prematurely in the first half as he watched Al-Ittihad earn a 3-0 victory over Al-Wehda from the bench.
The Frenchman made his fourth start for Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League this season despite recent controversy over a reported fallout with manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
Santo also started with the same midfield partnership of Fabinho and N’Golo Kante with in-form Abderrazak Hamdalla in front while Brazilian duo Romarinho and Igor Coronado occupied the wings.
The game had a quick start with both sides finding spaces to exploit going forward but lacking the required precision in the final ball upfront.
Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored a sensational overhead kick last week, spurned a golden opportunity to get Al-Ittihad in front after 25 minutes as his curled effort was off target from close range.
The Moroccan missed another sitter a few minutes later as he somehow failed to tap in a well-delivered cross that ultimately came off his left foot and was easily gathered by Al-Wehda’s Abdulquddus Atiah.
To make matters worse, Al-Ittihad suffered an injury blow before the break as Karim Benzema was forced off the pitch and was replaced by Portugal’s Jota.
A frustrating first half for Nuno Santo’s side was followed by a disastrous spell after the restart with Al-Ittihad’s backline giving the ball away to Al-Wedha several times but the hosts failed to capitalise.
However, Al-Ittihad finally found the breakthrough after the hour mark against the run of play as Romarinho unleashed an unstoppable strike from distance to give the Tigers a vital lead.
The goals kept coming for Al-Ittihad as Jota doubled their advantage within seconds by making a darting run forward before slotting home at the near post.
Igor Cornado also got on the scoresheet in the 72nd minute by finishing off a quick counter-attack to seal Al-Ittihad’s fourth win of the campaign.
The victory comes right before Al-Ittihad’s first real test of the season as the champions are set to face Al-Hilal in the derby in their upcoming league encounter.
“I am happy about my goal and assist,” Romarinho told SSC Sport after the win. “We struggled a bit in the first half because some of us didn’t really get into the game.
“But in the second half, we were much better in terms of controlling the game and we managed to score three goals.
“We are all looking forward to the Saudi El Clasico against Al-Hilal. It’s a huge game and we want to win it,” he added.