Al-Hilal refused to suffer the first loss of the current season of the Saudi Professional League, after snatching a fatal draw from rivals and hosts Al-Nasr (1-1) at First Park Stadium on Friday evening in the top of the 32 round matches.
Victory advanced through Otavio Monteiro after 23 seconds on the first whistle in the fastest of the season, but Crescent equalized from the penalty spot in time rather than lost for the second half.
Al-Hilal maintained a losing record in the current season of the domestic competition after 29 wins and two draws, but his winning streak was interrupted after reaching 24 games in a row.
The leader is only two games away from the league title for the second time in his history, and the third in the history of the Professional League (since 2008-2009).
قمة الرياض.. تعادل إيجابي (1-1) ⚽ ⚽
شاهد الأهداف ⬇️ #دوري_روشن_السعودي#النصر_الهلال | #SSC pic.twitter.com/GXzrtaI5g4
— SSC (@ssc_sports) May 17, 2024
The tie will not affect Crescent’s title win, as the Blue side sealed the competition after their 4-1 defeat last Saturday in round 31.
Al-Hilal raised his balance to 90 points to maintain a 12-point difference with Al-Nasr, second, before the last two rounds.
Aleksandar Mitrovic missed one of the leader’s most dangerous opportunities in the derby, rising high to divert Savic’s cross towards goal, but raised the bar in the 78th minute.
Ronaldo responded a minute later with a more dangerous chance, conceding a cross into the box, striking a powerful shot around by Bono for a corner, before the Moroccan goalkeeper continued his depth by clearing another header.
As the victory crowd prepared to celebrate the crescent’s first defeat, the leader was awarded a penalty after Abdul Hamid was handicapped by Mane, translated by Mitrovic for a deadly equaliser.
