DAMMAM: Al-Ittihad secured a valuable home victory against a resilient Diriyah side on Friday, a day when all of the Saudi Pro League’s top five were in action.
It might not have been the best of performances from the Jeddah side, who produced a stellar display in a 4-1 win over Al-Ettifaq on Tuesday, but the three points kept the Tigers in fourth place on 23 points after 10 games, just two behind league leaders Al-Qadsiah and Al-Nassr.
Al-Ittihad started the game with a front four of Georginio Wijnaldum, Houssem Aouar, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi and George Ilenikhena. Head coach Jens Wissing has been focusing on managing player minutes, in the best way possible, and for the second consecutive game Dion Lopy did not start, while Youssef En-Nesyri was also on the bench.
Wissing told Arab News after the Al-Ettifaq match that center-back Saad Al-Mousa’s time on the pitch, after a year out, was also still being managed, and sure enough, the manager substituted Al-Mousa and moved Richard Rios back into defense for the second half on Friday, a telling move in the circumstances. Lopy came on for Al-Mousa and En-Nesyri replaced Ilenikhena in a double substitution at half time.
Nigerian international Ilenikhena had opened the scoring in the 30th minute, after a combination involving Aouar and right-back Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti ended with the former’s shot on goal. Diriyah goalkeeper Amin Bukhari parried it, but only into the path of Ilenikhena who was left with an easy finish.
Ilenikhena’s time on the pitch so far this season is a testament to the way in which Wissing manages his squad; despite featuring in eight of Al-Ittihad’s 10 league games, he has averaged just over 50 minutes per game and scored six goals.
En-Nesyri, who has seven goals this season, contributed to Al-Ittihad’s second when he latched onto a loose ball that strayed into the box after Al-Ghamdi was tackled. The Moroccan was then brought down by Bukhari for a penalty in the 77th minute, which Wijnaldum converted to confirm the 2-0 victory.
In a season in which Al-Ittihad were not expected to be realistic title contenders, so far they have managed seven wins, two draws and just one defeat — not a bad return, in hindsight.
The 2024/25 champions will surely believe they have what it takes to go the distance despite the initial pessimism among pundits, and if Wissing can continue to successfully rotate his squad through the multitude of games ahead, they might well be among the top challengers come the end of the season.