DAMMAM, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Karim Benzema starred on his return from injury with a goal and two assists as Saudi Pro League leader Al-Ittihad won at Ettifaq 4-0 on Saturday.
The former Real Madrid striker missed the previous four games with a muscle problem but back in action he was too much to handle for struggling Ettifaq, coached by former Liverpool and England star Steven Gerrard.
Benzema, in Jeddah since June 2023, netted after 27 minutes following a fine pass from N’Golo Kante but was adjudged by VAR to have been offside. He returned the favor eight minutes later, passing for Kante to open the scoring from just inside the area.
Early in the second half, Benzema extended Ittihad’s lead, pouncing on a loose ball at close range to score his ninth league goal of the season, level with Cristiano Ronaldo of Al-Nassr and three behind Aleksandar Mitrovic of Al-Hilal.
Houssem Aouar made it 3-0 after 66 minutes and, soon after, Benzema’s perfect through pass released Steven Bergwin to add a fourth.
Ettifaq has not won its last nine games and was just three points above the relegation zone, increasing the pressure on Gerrard, who was appointed in July 2023.
Last month, the club released Dean Holden, Gerrard's assistant coach, admitting in a statement that results had been unsatisfactory.
“This conference is not the place to talk about dismissing the assistant coach,” Gerrard said on Saturday. “These decisions are the decisions of the board of directors.”
While Ettifaq was in 13th place, Ittihad stayed on top, two points clear of Al-Hilal, which came back from a goal down to beat Al-Shabab 2-1.
Abderrazak Hamdallah put Shabab ahead after six minutes of the Riyadh derby. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic leveled for Hilal eight minutes later but the champion's former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off just before the break.
Nader Al-Sharari was booked twice early in the second half as Al-Shabab was also reduced to 10 men. After 62 minutes, Milinkovic-Savic curled a free kick into the top corner for the clincher.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
The Associated Press
