Surprise Al-Ittihad loss allows Al-Hilal back into title race

Al-Ittihad suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat to Al Fateh to allow Al-Hilal to cut their lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League to four points, potentially reigniting the title race.

Laurent Blanc's leaders entered Thursday's games seven points clear at the summit as they chase a 10th league title.

But goals from Amine Sbai and Matias Vargas handed Jose Gomes' Al Fateh a deserved home victory as they pulled four points clear of the relegation zone.

Former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho had a penalty saved by Nawaf Al Aqidi at 1-0, with the Al Fateh goalkeeper also providing the assist for Vargas' clinching goal.

Al-Ittihad's defeat came after last season's champions Al-Hilal won 3-0 at home to Al-Khaleej, with Salem Al Dawsari scoring twice before Aleksandar Mitrovic added a late third off a Ruben Neves assist.

Al-Hilal are now just four points behind Al-Ittihad with six games remaining and boast a far superior goal difference.

3 Points. 3 Goals. 1 Clean Sheet. The perfect win #HILKHL pic.twitter.com/Vq1TudCBPd
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) April 17, 2025

Elsewhere, Al-Ettifaq climbed into seventh with a 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh, courtesy of Vitinho's goal, and Al-Shabab played out a goalless draw with relegation-threatened Al-Okhdood.

Data debrief: Al Aqidi's day to remember

Al Aqidi had a game to remember for Al Fateh, becoming just the second goalkeeper to save a penalty and assist a goal in the same Saudi Pro League game on record.

Paulo Vitor previously achieved the feat last April, playing for Al-Okhdood against Abha.

Al-Ittihad are now wobbling, having only won two of their last seven Saudi Pro League matches (four draws, one defeat) since a 4-1 win over Al-Hilal in February.

Al-Hilal's victory on Thursday was just their fourth in their last 10 games (three draws, three losses), though, so they need to find greater consistency if they are to take advantage.