In-form Benzema sees off Terim's Al Shabab to fire Al Ittihad title tilt | OneFootball

Karim Benzema continues to propel Al Ittihad’s Roshn Saudi League title challenge, with the Frenchman proving the match winner against Al Shabab in Jeddah on Wednesday night.

Benzema, chasing down former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the 2024-25 RSL scoring charts, sealed a hard-fought 2-1 win for the hosts over Fatih Terim's new side at King Abdullah Sports City.

The victory keeps Laurent Blanc’s men second in the standings, but they move back level with champions Al Hilal at the summit. Both clubs are locked on 43 points after Matchweek 16.

On Wednesday in Jeddah, Al Ittihad responded immediately to Hassan Kadesh’s disallowed goal on the half hour – Danilo Pereira was judged to have been offside before meeting Benzema’s cross – when the captain’s close-range effort was initially saved by Al Shabab goalkeeper Abdullah Al Mayouf. However, Abdulrahman Al Oboud was on hand to put his team 1-0 up.

Al Ittihad then doubled their advantage three minutes into first-half injury-time. This time, Benzema made no mistake with his finish, the Ballon d’Or winner beginning and then concluding a sweeping move to slide his shot home. It lifted the striker to 12 RSL goals this campaign, level with Al Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic and one behind Ronaldo.

Yet, in an instant, Al Shabab pulled a goal back. A loss in concentration in the Al Ittihad backline allowed Daniel Podence to cross low to Haroune Camara, leaving the Saudi Arabian to place past home goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

The visitors could not find another, meaning Terim's capital club remain sixth, but lose ground on fifth-placed Al Ahli. Al Shabab sit three back from their Jeddah rivals, six points off Al Nassr in the race for the top four.