Al-Hilal achieved a valuable away victory against Al-Ettifaq, winning 2-0 on Monday evening during the 21st round of the Saudi Professional League. The goals for Al-Hilal were scored by Sergej Milinković-Savić and Salem Al-Dawsari in the 39th and 45+5 minutes, respectively. This win raised "the Leader's" points to 59, maintaining its lead in the standings and extending the gap with second-placed Al-Nassr to 7 points, while Al-Ettifaq's points remained at 28, placing them in eighth position.
Al-Hilal became the team with the most consecutive wins in a single season of the league, achieving 14 victories, surpassing the previous record held by Al-Nassr by just one win that occurred between November 2013 and February 2014.
In the first half, Al-Hilal dominated play significantly, particularly in possession and threatening Al-Ettifaq's goal, who played defensively. The first attempt came in the 16th minute when Serbian Sergej Milinković-Savić took a powerful shot that deflected off the defense, landing at the feet of Senegalese Kalidou Koulibaly who shot directly; however, Al-Ettifaq's goalkeeper Paulo Victor brilliantly saved it before the ball fell to another Serbian, Aleksandar Mitrović, only for the referee to flag offside.
In the 19th minute, Brazilian Renan Lodi, Al-Hilal's left-back, took a strong shot that went over the crossbar. In the 24th minute, a dangerous attack from Al-Hilal followed a series of passes, culminating in a shot from Portuguese Ruben Neves from outside the penalty area, which missed the target.
Al-Ettifaq threatened Al-Hilal's goal for the first time in the 27th minute when Salman Al-Faraj, the leader of Al-Hilal, made a misplaced pass that reached Ivorian Seko Fofana, who passed it directly to Moussa Dembélé; however, Koulibaly prevented a goal in the last moment.
After a long period of possession, Al-Hilal managed to score the first goal through Savić via a remarkable header in the 39th minute, following a superb cross from a corner kick. Just a few minutes later, in the 45+5 minute of the first half, Salem Al-Dawsari doubled Al-Hilal's lead with a brilliant run down the left side before slotting the ball into the net.
In the second half, the game exhibited a noticeable calmness until the 56th minute, when Dembélé made a quick advance into the penalty area, but Koulibaly thwarted his shot. Savić unleashed a precise shot in the 62nd minute that hit the right post after a great pass from Malcolm.
Al-Hilal repeatedly attempted to break through Al-Ettifaq's defense by sending numerous crosses either from Malcolm or Salem, but the home side managed to clear all the balls. In the 81st and 83rd minutes, Al-Ettifaq threatened Al-Hilal's goal with two dangerous attacks, as Carol Ikambi took a powerful shot that went wide of the left post, followed by Georginio Wijnaldum failing to convert a great cross from the left.
In the final minutes, both teams attempted to push forward, but the play was generally confined to the midfield, with the match ending in favor of Al-Hilal (2-0).
