“Moussa Dembele opens the scoring with a left-footed finish after Al Ettifaq carve open the NEOM defence in a dangerous early passage of play, capitalising on two earlier attempts from Zeze and Lacazette.”
Pivotal“Alaa Hejji rescues a point for NEOM in the 80th minute, converting to make it 1-1 after the home side had dominated possession and territory throughout but struggled to test the Al Ettifaq goalkeeper.”
Pivotal
NEOM SC
Al Ettifaq
Outstanding performance
Al Ettifaq•DefenderAl Ettifaq arrived at NEOM and made the perfect start, with Moussa Dembele capitalising on early pressure in the sixth minute to put the visitors ahead after a spell of sustained attacking play that also saw Nathan Zeze and Alexandre Lacazette go close. Despite NEOM controlling 62% of possession and generating 14 shots across the 90 minutes, they were wasteful in the final third — managing just three shots on target against Al Ettifaq's five, a telling statistic that illustrated just how clinical the visitors were with their limited opportunities. NEOM's dominance in dangerous attacks (71 to 27) and corners (4 to 0) told the story of a home side that pushed relentlessly but lacked the cutting edge to break through until Alaa Hejji finally provided it in the 80th minute. The point keeps NEOM in a difficult league position, while Al Ettifaq will feel the equaliser came against the run of play after they had done so well to absorb sustained second-half pressure.
How entertaining was this match?
Muhannad Al Saad takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Georginio Wijnaldum attempts a header but misses the shot.
Georginio Wijnaldum attempts a header but misses the shot.
Ala Al-Hajji takes a shot with his right foot and scores.
Mohammed Al-Burayk comes on for Rayane Messi.
Yahya Mousa Gharawi comes on for Khalifah Al-Dawsari.
Awad Dahal comes on for Madallah Alolayan.
Faris Abdi comes on for Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari.
Ahmed Al Anzi is on, and Islam Hawsawi is off.
Islam Hawsawi takes a left-footed shot but misses.
Amadou Koné takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Ahmed Hassan Koka replaces Moussa Dembele.
Alexandre Lacazette's left-footed shot is saved.
Muhannad Al Saad comes on for Luciano Rodriguez Rosales.
Moussa Dembele's header is saved.
Mukhtar Ali's right-footed shot is saved.
Matija Gluscevic takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Georginio Wijnaldum takes a right-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Matija Gluscevic replaces Joao Costa.
The first half ends with a score of 0-1.
Rayane Messi takes a right-footed shot, but it's saved.
Luciano Rodriguez Rosales takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Mukhtar Ali takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Amadou Koné's header shot missed the target.
Rayane Messi takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Abdulmalik Al-Oyayari takes a left-footed shot, but it is blocked.
Rayane Messi's right-footed shot is blocked.
Khalid Al-Ghannam takes a left-footed shot, but it's saved.
assist: Khalid Al-Ghannam
Goal! Moussa Dembele scores, making it 1-0.
Moussa DembéléMoussa Dembele scores with a left-footed shot.
Alexandre Lacazette takes a right-footed shot but misses.
Nathan Zeze takes a header shot, but it misses the target.
NEOM SC host Al Ettifaq at King Khalid Sport City Stadium in a mid-table Pro League clash with real stakes on both sides. Al Ettifaq arrive five points clear of their hosts and will look to consolidate their 7th-place standing, while NEOM need a win to close the gap and inject some momentum into a rollercoaster season.
