Not only did Ollie Watkins score once, he provided two assists to his teammates as Al Hilal overcame Al Ittihad 3-2 and inflicted their first defeat in the current season after an exciting summit to take the lead in the Saudi League.
Unlike Al Hilal strikers in the recent period, Watkins does not prefer to position himself in the penalty area waiting for opportunities, but rather continues to move right and left or even move back to find spaces and link up with the team’s wings to provide distinctive passes to help the team reach the opponent’s goal, without losing his scoring ability in the final touch.
Against Al-Ittihad, the former Aston Villa striker did everything he was good at to contribute to Al-Hilal’s victory over Al-Ittihad, bringing coach Simone Inzaghi’s team to the 21st point after eight matches and taking the lead in the league.
During the first goal game, Watkins moved to the right side to collect a pass from Simone Bouabre, attracting the attention of defender Danilo Pereira before setting up the ball for himself and then sending a low pass towards Gabriel Martinelli coming from behind, who took advantage of chaos in the Al-Ittihad defense to evade the marker and score easily with one touch into the net in the 11th minute.
Although Crescencio Summerville made a dazzling individual appearance before scoring the third goal with a curling shot that landed in the far corner, Watkins played a role in the smart start of the Dutch winger, after he returned before the middle of the field, took possession of the ball and sent a perfect pass that sent the former West Ham United player running behind the Al-Ittihad defense, giving him the advantage in facing the goal.
Watkins did not forget his main duties inside the penalty area, as he took advantage of Danilo’s mistake in clearing a cross pass from Ruben Neves and pounced on the ball immediately after the Portuguese defender was distracted and diverted it with one touch into the net in a shot that highlighted his scoring abilities.
He almost scored his second goal near the break with a header after a free kick, but it was not counted because he had a handball while trying to receive Neves' pass.
The way Al-Ittihad defended caused Watkins to pose a threat to the visitors’ goal, after the team relied on an advanced defense line to put pressure on the home team’s players.
With Watkins' mastery of the first touch when receiving the ball and the speed of movement, he succeeded in always linking up with Martinelli and Summerville, the duo who used to run behind Al-Ittihad's full-backs as soon as Al-Hilal took possession of the ball, seeking to create one-on-one offensive positions.
Once again, the attacking trio coming from the English league for Al Hilal, Watkins, Martinelli and Summerville, demonstrated their harmony after an early recovery from their loss to NEOM in their first appearance together since the beginning in the Saudi League.
After they cooperated in a 6-0 victory over Al-Taawoun, a match in which former Arsenal winger Martinelli scored with an assist from Watkins and then Summerville, they tested themselves against a strong competitor who had not suffered a loss in the league before Saturday’s match and conceded six goals in only seven matches.
Serbian Simic, Al-Ittihad defender, confirmed that the individual mistakes committed by his team against Al-Hilal were behind their 3-2 loss, in the eighth round of the Saudi Professional League, stressing that the defeat in El Clásico will not determine the team’s path during the season, in light of the continuing work and the presence of many upcoming matches.
Speaking to media representatives after the match, Simic said: “Certainly, it was a big match, and I know its importance well. It is one of the biggest matches even in Asia, and the biggest in Saudi Arabia, so the pressure is great on both teams, and everyone wants to win.”
He added: “It was a difficult match for both sides, and the result was not in our favor today, and we were not lucky in the end.”
Regarding the reasons for the goals that Al-Ittihad received, the Serbian defender explained: “We committed some individual mistakes, and this happens in football, but when you face teams of this level, you pay the price for small mistakes. The simple details are what decide such matches and determine the winning team, and we must work to correct them.”
Simic stressed that losing El Clasico will not affect Al-Ittihad’s ambitions during the season, saying: “We still have many matches ahead of us this season, and one loss will not determine our season or the stage we are going through. “We are on the right path, and we are working very hard.”
He concluded his speech by emphasizing the importance of overcoming the loss quickly, adding: “We have another match in two or three days, and we will work to analyze what happened, recover, and then return again in the next match.”
Moroccan Youssef En-Nesyri, the Al-Ittihad striker, confirmed that the strong relationship between him and his compatriot Yassine Bounou, the Al-Hilal goalkeeper, was the reason he did not celebrate the equalizer he scored against the two teams, noting that the years of playing together in the Moroccan national team and Spanish Sevilla made their relationship go beyond the boundaries of the field.
Speaking to media representatives after the match, En-Nesyri said: “It is difficult for me to celebrate in front of my brother Bono, as he is a person dear to my heart, and we have spent many years together in the Moroccan national team and Seville, and I wish him all the best and success in the upcoming matches.”
Regarding Al-Ittihad’s loss to Al-Hilal, and the arbitration cases witnessed in the match, Al-Nusairi said: “Praise be to God, we were determined to provide the best, and I do not want to talk about arbitration errors. “I am proud of my fellow players, and proud of the fans who came and supported us.”
The Moroccan striker sent a message to Al-Ittihad fans, saying: “I thank them for their presence and support for us, and God willing, we will do everything we have in the upcoming matches to make them happy and achieve the results they are looking forward to.”
