Al Hilal dropped their first season points in the Capital Derby, settling for a 1-1 draw against their Riyadh rivals Al Nassr. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a number of chances to win the game for his side, continuing his poor run of form after missing a penalty in the King’s Cup recently.
The match erupted at Al Awwal Park when the home fans erupted in celebration just 55 seconds in, as Otavio delivered a pinpoint pass to Anderson Talisca, who skillfully controlled the ball and fired it into the bottom corner, giving Al Nassr an early lead. Al Hilal nearly responded immediately, with Brazilian forward Malcom forcing a brilliant save from goalkeeper Bento.
Portuguese superstar Ronaldo could have extended Al-Nassr’s lead in the first half but squandered several opportunities that came his way. He subsequently received a yellow card for a harsh challenge on fellow countryman Joao Cancelo.
Just before halftime, Aleksandar Mitrovic thought he had extended his league-leading tally of 10 goals for the season when he slotted the ball home after defender Kalidou Koulibaly redirected it into his path, but the Serbian forward was ruled offside.
Talisca had a second goal disallowed shortly after the break when he capitalized on a parry from Hilal keeper Bono following a Marcelo Brozovic shot, only to be deemed offside once more. Hilal captain Salem Al Dawsari struck the post with a curling right-footed attempt after cutting in from the left, and Lodi’s follow-up was superbly saved by Bento.
As time wound down, Hilal pressed for an equalizer, which came from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. Lodi delivered a precise cross, allowing the former Lazio captain to powerfully head the ball past Bento to equalize and rescue a point for his team.
Following a frustrating draw against Al-Hilal on Friday, Cristiano Ronaldo delivered a bold message to his Al-Nassr teammates. On his social media handles, the former Manchester United star posted several matchday photos and captioned them: “The battle is far from over. Thank you all for the support today!”
The battle is far from over. Thank you all for the support today! pic.twitter.com/7oYVpICey9
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) November 1, 2024
Despite the draw, Al Hilal extended their unbeaten run in the Saudi Premier League to 45 matches. Hilal continues to lead the Saudi Pro League, holding a one-point advantage over Al Ittihad, who secured a 1-0 victory against Al Ahli in Thursday’s Sea Derby in Jeddah. Al Nassr sits in third place, trailing the league leaders by six points. The first-ever Derby Week of the league wraps up on Saturday as Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq hosts Al Qadsiah in the Eastern Derby.
Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
