Rajkovic, Benzema shine as Al-Ittihad eliminate Al-Hilal from King Cup

Photo: Instagram/@ittihadclub.sa

Al-Ittihad advanced to the semifinals of the King Cup after defeating Al-Hilal 3-1 in a penalty shootout on Tuesday. The match had finished 2-2 after 120 minutes of intense action in Riyadh. Predrag Rajkovic, the goalkeeper for Al-Ittihad, was the hero of the day, saving three of Al-Hilal’s penalty kicks.

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The first half of the match was closely contested. It started badly for Al-Hilal when Aleksandar Mitrovic, the league’s top scorer, had to leave the field with a possible hamstring injury just 13 minutes into the game. Three minutes later, Al-Hilal almost took the lead, but Salem Al-Dawsari’s shot from just inside the penalty area hit the post.

Al-Ittihad’s Karim Benzema then started to make an impact. In the 26th minute, his curling shot from outside the area was saved by Al-Hilal’s goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. Just before halftime, Benzema thought he had scored after a low shot from N’Golo Kante was saved by Bounou, but Benzema was offside. In the final moments of the first half, Benzema had another chance but his shot from close range was too weak and was saved by Bounou.

The game changed in the second half. After Malcom hit the post for Al-Hilal, Benzema finally broke the deadlock in the 60th minute. He controlled a cross from Muhannad Al-Shanqiti and fired the ball into the net from close range.

Al-Hilal equalized with 18 minutes remaining. A loose ball found Salem Al-Dawsari inside the penalty area, and the 2022 Asian Player of the Year made no mistake, scoring past Rajkovic to make it 1-1.

The match then went into extra time. After 101 minutes, Al-Hilal took the lead for the first time in the game. Moteb Al-Harbi made a perfect pass from the left, finding Marcos Leonardo at the far post. The Brazilian striker made no mistake, putting Al-Hilal ahead 2-1.

But Al-Ittihad responded quickly. Benzema scored again, sweeping the ball into the net from close range to make it 2-2 and send the game to a penalty shootout.

In the shootout, Al-Hilal’s performance was disappointing. Mohamed Kanno took the first penalty but Rajkovic saved it. Benzema then put Al-Ittihad ahead, and Rajkovic saved again, blocking Marcos Leonardo’s shot. Fabinho made it 2-0 for Al-Ittihad, and when Danilo Pereira scored to make it 3-1, the pressure was on Al-Hilal. Malcom had to score to keep them alive, but Rajkovic saved once more, sending Al-Ittihad through to the semifinals.

Al-Ittihad’s players and fans celebrated their victory as they joined Al-Qadsiah, who had earlier defeated Al-Taawoun 3-0, in the semifinals. Al-Ittihad, Al-Qadsiah, Al-Shabab, and Al-Raed are the four teams remaining in the competition.

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