Al-Khaleej 1-1 Al-Ittihad: Fortounis denies leaders with last-gasp penalty

Kostas Fortounis scored a stoppage-time penalty to snatch a 1-1 draw for Al-Khaleej against Al-Ittihad, stopping the leaders from going seven points clear in the Saudi Pro League.

It looked like Laurent Blanc’s side would be taking back all three points after Abdullah Al Salem’s goal 12 minutes from time, but they could not hold on.

Al-Khaleej made a bright start, with Mohammed Al Khabrani’s first-time volley forcing Predrag Rajkovic into a reflex save with just 92 seconds on the clock.

Al Salem found a pocket of space on the edge of the day in the 31st minute, with Rajkovic getting down quickly to tip his low drive wide of the near post.

Shortly after, Karim Benzema could not finish off a quick counter-attack, firing tamely at Ibrahim Sehic before skimming a low free-kick straight into his gloves.

In the 78th minute, Al Salem glanced on Fortounis’ free-kick straight at Rajkovic, who began a lightning-quick move for Al-Ittihad.

Benzema’s big switch opened up the space before it was knocked through for Fawaz Al Soqoor, who fizzed a dangerous ball across the face of goal, and Al Salem was waiting at the far post to knock it over the line.

However, there was late drama as Saad Al Mosa blocked Khaled Al Sumairi from chesting the ball down with his arm, and Fortounis coolly slotted in a 96th-minute equaliser from 12 yards.

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الجولة الـ22
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— نادي الاتحاد السعودي (@ittihad) February 26, 2025

Data Debrief: Winning run halted

Al-Ittihad had won their last four games in the Saudi Pro League, scoring three or more goals in three matches on that run, but they struggled against Al-Khaleej.

They managed just three shots in the first half, compared to the hosts’ six, but registered 1.37 expected goals (xG) in the second from nine attempts as they pushed for the win.

Despite not getting the victory they needed to put more breathing space between themselves and second-placed Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad extended their unbeaten streak against Al-Khaleej in the competition to 12 matches (W8 D4).

The hosts, meanwhile, are winless in five, though it is a huge boost to have snatched a point from the current leaders.