Going into their Saudi Pro League match against Al Hilal on Monday, Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq were flying high off the back of two wins including a famous 2-1 victory over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in their season opener.
The side that had last won the league title in 1987 were close to the top of the table, after securing seven points from three games just like their unbeaten opponents.
Then came the bad news for the former Rangers boss. Al Ettifaq had to make do without their star striker Moussa Dembele and reliable centre-back Marcel Tisserand, who both failed to recover from injuries sustained in the previous match.
Things went from bad to worse for the side from Dammam inside ten minutes of their game against Al Hilal as creative winger Vitinho had to be carried off with a hamstring injury.