Al-Qadsiah 2-3 Al-Hilal: Martinelli and Neves on target as visitors go top
Gabriel Martinelli, Rúben Neves and Sergej Milinković-Savić scored as Al-Hilal won 3-2 at Al-Qadsiah to go top of the Saudi Pro League.
Al-Hilal moved to the top of the Saudi Pro League with a 3-2 victory over Al-Qadsiah at Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium.
Gabriel Martinelli, Rúben Neves and Sergej Milinković-Savić were on the scoresheet for the visitors, who had to hold on during a nervy finish after Mateo Retegui pulled one back for Al-Qadsiah late on.
Al-Hilal were ahead after 21 minutes as Ollie Watkins raced onto a long ball from midfield and squared to Martinelli, who saw his shot with the outside of his right boot deflect past Koen Casteels.
However, the hosts restored parity just after the half-hour mark through Julián Quiñones after he headed Musab Al-Juwayr's lofted pass into the bottom-left corner, leaving Yassine Bounou with no chance of saving it.
Watkins and Crysencio Summerville both tested Casteels after the break, but it was Neves who scored the go-ahead goal in the 77th minute as Milinković-Savić teed the Portuguese midfielder up for a curling finish from outside the box.
Milinković-Savić then went from provider to scorer seven minutes later as he fired in from Sultan Mandash's cut-back, rendering Retegui's glancing header from Tijjani Reijnders' free-kick a consolation.
Al-Hilal's stars shine bright
Al-Nassr placed pressure on both Al-Hilal and Al-Qadsiah earlier on Friday after defeating Al-Faysaly, but the visitors took their opportunity to go top of the pack, and did so with more dominance than the scoreline suggests.
Al-Hilal accumulated 2.84 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots to Al-Qadsiah's 0.68 from 14 attempts, with Martinelli and Theo Hernández (both four) leading the way in shots, while Watkins recorded the most xG (1.09).
Milinković-Savić created the most chances for Al-Hilal (five), Watkins completed 100% of passes (19/19) while creating three chances, and Summerville won eight of his 12 duels as Al-Hilal worked hard for their win.
Al-Qadsiah forward duo of Quiñones and Retegui both got on the scoresheet, with the latter scoring the second-most goals in the league this season (seven), but Brendan Rodgers will know his side must perform better against their title competitors if they are to win the league.