Al-Ittihad have earned a comprehensive 4-0 away victory over Al-Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League’s third round of the season.
The Tigers had a fantastic start to the new league campaign earning back-to-back wins in their opening games against Al-Raed and Al-Tai.
Recent news suggested that star signing Karim Benzema is unsettled at the club as reports confirmed a possible fallout with manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
However, the former Real Madrid forward made his third start this season and finally opened his Saudi Pro League scoring account to give Al-Ittihad the lead after 17 minutes.
Benzema finished off a well-constructed counter by Al-Ittihad, initiated by Fabinho, after combining with Romarinho and Abderrazak Hamdalla.
Five minutes later, Al-Ittihad’s pressure intensified as Hamdalla managed to earn his side a penalty as he was brought down inside the box. The Moroccan stepped up and converted from the spot to double their advantage.
With a two-goal cushion heading into the break, Al-Ittihad didn’t lift their foot off the accelerator with Hamdalla scoring a potential goal-of-the-season contender.
The 32-year-old’s brilliant movement gave him enough space inside the penalty area to meet Madallah Alolayan’s cross with a sensational overhead kick to net Al-Ittihad’s third at the stroke of half-time.
The second half saw Portuguese signing Jota come off the bench despite being linked with a move away from Jeddah two weeks after joining the club.
Nuno Santo also decided to bring on Saudi striker Saleh Al-Amri for the final 10 minutes of the game and the forward made sure to leave his mark.
Al-Amri got on the scoresheet with seconds remaining to full-time as he tapped in Benzema’s cross to seal Al-Ittihad’s third league victory.