Al Hilal beats reigning league champions Al Ittihad

Saudi side Al Hilal beat reigning league champions Al Ittihad on Friday in a seven-goal thriller that sees Al Hilal overtake Al Ittihad at the summit of the league.
Al Ittihad had started the league season with four wins from four and had racked up 12 goals without conceding a single point.
Brazilian Romarinho took the lead for Ittihad in the 16th minute before a spectacular volley by Aleksandar Mitrovic leveled the game for Al Hilal four minutes later.
Karim Benzema then scored with a delightful backheel flick through Yassine Bono’s legs from close range to retake the lead before his Al Ittihad teammate Abderrazak Hamedallah pounced on an error by AlHilal’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to put Al Ittihad 3-1 up at the break.
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Al Hilal then turned on the style and attacked aggressively in the second half, scoring three times in a span of 11 minutes, a further two goals by Mitrovic to secure his hat-trick before a winner by Salem al-Dawsari in the 71st minute.
Al Hilal climbed to the top of the table with 13 points from five games, one point ahead of Al Ittihad and Al Ahli on 12. Al Ahli can go top on Saturday if they can clinch a win at midtable Al Fateh.
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