Al-Ittihad 2-0 Al-Orubah: Title favourites extend Pro League lead

Al-Ittihad stretched their lead at the summit of the Saudi Pro League to eight points thanks to a 2-0 victory over Al-Orubah.

Laurent Blanc's team capitalised on playing before any of their title rivals in this round of fixtures to put further daylight between themselves and the chasing pack.

Their big names all featured on Thursday, though it was youngster Unai Hernandez who broke the deadlock in stunning fashion deep in first-half stoppage time.

Hernandez took the ball on the turn in midfield before advancing forward and arrowing a fierce left-footed drive into the right-hand corner.

Al-Ittihad peppered Al-Orubah's goal as they searched for another, accumulating 2.8 of their total 3.62 expected goals in the second half.

However, the pressure finally told in the 88th minute when Abdulrahman Al Obud finished at the second attempt at the culmination of a sweeping counter-attack.

Earlier, Al-Wehda beat 10-man Damac 1-0 to boost their survival hopes, while Al-Shabab closed ground on fifth-place Al-Ahli by overcoming Al-Kholood 2-0.

Data Debrief: Benzema fires a blank

Al-Ittihad star Karim Benzema had only scored four goals against promoted teams in the Pro League in nine previous appearances against such opposition before Thursday's game, and the former Real Madrid attacker could not make his mark this time, either.

That is despite the Frenchman having a game-leading six attempts, though he only got two of those on target.

Not that his profligacy in front of goal proved costly. Al-Orubah managed only two attempts on target and failed to create one big chance, as they registered a meagre 0.71 xG.