RIYADH: Al-Hilal defeated Al-Taawoun 2-0 on Saturday to make it eight wins from eight in the current Saudi Pro League season and restore their three point lead at the top of the standings.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored his 10th goal of the campaign after just 15 minutes to put the champions ahead. A second half strike just after the hour from fellow Serbian Sergej Milinkovic-Savic sealed the victory against the visitors from Buraidah, who would have gone fifth in the table had they managed to take all three points in Riyadh.
Given Al-Hilal’s imperious form that was always going to be unlikely, even for a team that finished fourth last season. It means that the Blues are not just three points ahead of Al-Ittihad in second, but also six clear of Riyadh rivals Al-Nassr, who are in third after being held to a 3-3 draw by Al-Kholood on Friday.
Al-Hilal seemed to be feeling no ill effects from their epic 5-4 win at the home of Asian champions Al-Ain on Monday, and while another nine-goal thriller wasn’t on the cards, Al-Taawoun must have been a little concerned at going behind well before the midway point of the first half.
Once again Joao Cancelo, who has impressed since joining Jorge Jesus’s men in the summer from Manchester City, played a vital part in the opening goal with his fifth assist in 10 matches for Al-Hilal.
Cancelo collected a smart pass from Malcom in the right side of the area and pulled a perfect pass back near the byline for Mitrovic to shoot high into the net from close range, though the ball was just behind him. It is not the first time in recent weeks that these Brazilian and Portuguese stars have worked well together down the right side, and it is now the tenth time that the Serbian striker has found the target.
If Al-Taawoun were disappointed to be carved open so easily and so early, the easterners would have been relieved to be just a goal down at the break. Mitrovic should have done better a little later as he advanced into the left side of the area with just the goalkeeper to beat, only to see his shot saved by Mailson. His fellow Serbian Sergej Milinkovic-Savic also fired just side from a good position on the edge of the area.
Soon after the restart, the home fans had cause to regret those misses as the men in yellow appeared to equalize; a beauty of a left-sided cross was met at the near post by Joao Pedro, who managed to find some space between the two central defenders to head smartly home.
However, the goal was ruled out following a VAR check for offside, to the relief of the blue masses and the watching Neymar, who returned from a lengthy injury in Monday’s Asian win but is not registered for the first half of the league campaign.
Soon after, Mitrovic went close with a header and Salem Al-Dawsari could not quite connect when he had the goal at his mercy. Al-Taawoun were causing problems for the league leaders but, as is so often the case when the opposition start to look dangerous, the champions scored again after 62 minutes.
Mailson punched a corner at his near post and it fell to Milinkovic-Savic, who hooked the ball home from close range. It could have been worse. Mailson made a number of saves to keep the scoreline down and in the end, it was a comfortable victory for Al-Hilal.
As well as Al-Taawoun played at times, especially in the second half, they were just one more team who caused problems for Al-Hilal but still went away with nothing.
