Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al-Hazm 1-0

Al-Hilal Saudi FC beat Al-Hazm 1-0 at Kingdom Arena, with Gabriel Martinelli striking in the 89th minute after a long wait for a breakthrough.

The first half ended goalless. Al-Hazm had already been forced into an early change on 23 minutes when Aboubacar Diakite went off for Ahmed Al-Shamrani, and the visitors then picked up two bookings before the interval, Ahmed Al-Nakhli on 42 minutes and Ahmed Al-Shamrani on 45 minutes. The half-time score was Al-Hilal Saudi FC 0-0 Al-Hazm.

The match stayed level deep into the second half after a VAR check on 69 minutes ruled out a goal for Ollie Watkins. Al-Hazm made two changes on 70 minutes, then Al-Hilal made two on 76 minutes, and the game was still goalless until Martinelli, assisted by Mohammed Mahzari, put Al-Hilal ahead on 89 minutes for the 1-0 scoreline. Al-Hilal then made three more changes in stoppage time, including Martinelli going off on 90+2 minutes, after protecting the lead through the closing moments.

The numbers backed Al-Hilal’s edge. They had 63% of the possession, 495 passes to Al-Hazm’s 308, 3.13 expected goals to 0.52, and 10 corners to none. Al-Hazm committed more fouls, 13 to 7, while Al-Hilal were caught offside four times to Al-Hazm’s two.

Gabriel Martinelli was booked on 90 minutes. Al-Hazm’s Ahmed Al-Nakhli and Ahmed Al-Shamrani were both booked in the first half.