Gabriel Martinelli scored in the 89th minute to lift Al-Hilal to a 1-0 win over Al-Hazem and preserve their place at the top of the Saudi Pro League standings. It was a match Al-Hazem made difficult for long stretches, but Al-Hilal found the decisive moment late.
A tight match before the late finish
Al-Hazem stayed compact in a 5-4-1 shape and limited space for much of the contest. Their best early stretch came in the sixth minute, when Jindrich Stanek produced a fingertip save to deny Al-Hilal. Later in the first half, Martinelli hit the crossbar, and in the 40th minute Stanek made two more saves to keep the game level.
Al-Hilal kept pressing after the break, but they had to wait until the 66th minute for what looked like a breakthrough. Ollie Watkins scored, only for VAR to rule the effort offside. Simone Inzaghi then made his first substitutions in the 76th minute as the search for a winner continued.
One chance was enough
Al-Hazem had a major opportunity to strike first in the 84th minute, when Ahmed Al-Shamrani missed a chance to put his side ahead. That miss proved costly. Five minutes later, Martinelli delivered the winner for Al-Hilal, finishing the move that settled the match and kept his team at the top of the table.
There was also a notable moment after the goal, when Salem Al-Dawsari came onto the pitch for the first time since his injury after the World Cup. That return added another positive note for Al-Hilal on a night when they needed late quality to get the result.
The match also came in a wider league context, with Al-Ahli's meeting with Al-Fayha and Artem Bondarenko's two goals part of the same round of action. But for Al-Hilal, the main storyline was straightforward: they were tested, they were pushed late, and Martinelli's 89th-minute header was enough to keep them top.
