Al-Ittihad, the champions of the Saudi Professional League, continued their unbeaten start to their title defence campaign with a convincing win over Al-Wehda.
However, their victory was overshadowed by an injury to their star forward and new signing, Karim Benzema.
Despite the setback, Al-Ittihad has been in exceptional form, winning their first three games and keeping clean sheets in each. Although they were expected to dominate Al-Wehda, it took them over an hour to break the deadlock.
Benzema was unfortunately injured in the 42nd minute and was replaced by Jota, a former Celtic forward. The breakthrough came in the 63rd minute when N’golo Kante set up Romarinho for the opening goal.
Jota quickly made his mark, scoring less than five minutes later from an assist by Igor Coronado. Coronado himself got on the scoresheet in the 73rd minute, assisted by Romarinho, sealing another dominant victory for Al-Ittihad.
It will be recalled Benzema was reported to be facing challenges as his coach Nuno Espirito Santo believed that his tactical style doesn’t suit the playing characteristics of the former Real Madrid striker.
After spending 14 successful years at Real Madrid, winning multiple La Liga and Champions League titles, Benzema announced his departure in June.
He then signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Al-Ittihad, reportedly worth €600 million.
Benzema has scored one and grabbed two assists as he finds his feet in the growing league where the top four teams are owned by PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, which is said to have a value of $776 billion, as well as Newcastle United.
The extent of Benzema’s injury is unknown, although it seems likely he will miss the next game against Al-Hilal, the side that have only signed Neymar, Koulibaly, Mitrovic, Malcom, Bono, Milinkovic-Savic and Rubén Neves this summer.
