Al Ittihad climbed alongside Saudi Pro League leaders Al Hilal after a 1-0 derby victory over Al Ahli, secured by Saleh Al Shehri’s first-half strike.
Al Shehri converted Moussa Diaby’s cross in the 42nd minute to decide a tightly contested Jeddah derby. Diaby nearly doubled the advantage but was denied by the woodwork in a game of fine margins.
Al Ahli thought they had found an equalizer through Franck Kessie’s 59th-minute effort, only for VAR to rule it offside. Earlier, Ivan Toney had seen his attempt cleared off the line by Abdulelah Al Amri after rounding goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.
The statistical breakdown illustrated the match’s evenness, with Al Ittihad recording an expected goals (xG) of 1.06 from four shots on target, while Al Ahli managed an xG of 1.01 with three shots testing the goalkeeper.
Laurent Blanc’s side moved to 24 points from nine matches, matching Al Hilal’s total at the summit. Al Ahli’s struggles continued as they remain 11th, having secured just one win in their last five outings.
The result maintained a remarkable pattern in this fixture, with teams scoring first now unbeaten in nine meetings (eight wins, one draw). Blanc became only the second manager in 14 attempts to secure a derby victory over Al Ahli, following Cosmin Contra’s achievement.
The victory reinforced Al Ittihad’s impressive record when taking the lead this season, having won all six matches in which they’ve scored first.
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