Al Hilal 3-2 Al Ittihad ended with victory for Simone Inzaghi’s side at Kingdom Arena as Gabriel Martinelli, Ollie Watkins and Crysencio Summerville scored in the Saudi Clasico.
Image credit: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh. Photo: Bandar Al-Sari, Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Venue photo from 1 September 2026, not taken at this match.
Youssef En-Nesyri had equalised in the first half and Steven Bergwijn converted a late penalty, but Al Hilal held on. The club’s official match centre confirms the full-time score and a 2-1 half-time lead on Saturday 10th October.
Saudi Clasico: Watkins shapes the contest
Martinelli opened the scoring after Watkins reached the byline and cut the ball back. Arab News’ dated match report describes the move beginning with pressure on Houssem Aouar, followed by Ruben Neves and Saimon Bouabre helping work the ball forward.
However, Al Ittihad responded through En-Nesyri, who received Marwan Al-Sahafi’s through ball and finished past Yassine Bounou. The visitors had restored parity, but the level score did not last.
Because Danilo Pereira tried to control a Neves delivery with his chest, Watkins put Al Hilal back ahead at the half-hour mark. Watkins reacted to score, giving the home side the advantage they took into the interval.
In addition, Arab News reports that another Watkins effort in the Saudi Clasico was ruled out following a VAR review for handball. Therefore, it did not count towards the final score.
Summerville extends Al Hilal’s lead
The decisive third goal of the Saudi Clasico arrived in the 64th minute. Watkins dropped deeper and released Summerville, who drove towards goal and curled his effort into the far corner.
Both the official scorer feed and the independent match report record Summerville’s goal. Overall, Watkins had now scored once and helped create the other two.
As a result, the lead gave Al Hilal room to absorb a late setback. Bergwijn scored from the penalty spot in the 89th minute after a VAR review led to a penalty for a challenge on Jan-Carlo Simic.
However, Al Ittihad continued looking for an equaliser, but Al Hilal kept their advantage through the closing stages to finish 3-2 winners.
Official result, verified selection
As a result, the completed Saudi Clasico replaces the pre-match fitness questions with a confirmed result. Theo Hernandez started and Ali Lajami appeared from the bench, as recorded in the official line-up and substitution feed.
For the build-up, read our Al Hilal team news: final checks for Salem, Theo and Savic.
The Saudi Clasico finished with a narrow margin after the late penalty, but the three home goals were enough. Martinelli’s opener, Watkins’ finish and Summerville’s second-half strike decided the contest.
