Al-Hilal visit Al-Ettifaq with no margin for error and growing injury concerns

For most clubs, going without a win for three games is just a blip, but for Al-Hilal it is a full-blown crisis.

The reigning Saudi and Asian champions had already qualified for the knockout stages of the Asian Champions League by the time they collected just one point from the last two games of their group, but there was still criticism. Then came the 1-0 loss at Al-Feiha last Tuesday that hugely damaged their title chances. 

Ramon Diaz’s 12 straight wins upon his return to the club in February is already history.

With 15 minutes remaining at Damac on Saturday, it looked as if a fourth winless game was imminent. The Riyadh giants were 2-1 down and the championship was receding out of sight. Then came the comeback, the kind that shows why Al-Hilal are the most successful team in both domestic and continental football. Foreign stars Matheus Pereira, Moussa Marega and Odion Ighalo scored the goals that delivered a 4-2 win.

It was a fine result, and necessary. It keeps the title race just about alive. As things stand, Al-Ittihad are nine points clear, and will kick themselves for throwing away a two goal lead against Al-Fateh on Friday to draw 4-4. 

Al-Hilal have a game in hand against relegation-threatened Al-Ettifaq on Wednesday. Win that and the gap is six points with just four games left. The meeting between the top two on Sunday could then be a classic.

There are still issues to sort before then, and the game with Al-Ettifaq is not a guaranteed three points. The Dammam club were in deep trouble when they hired Patrice Carteron to replace Vladan Milojevic as head coach in March. After the recent break, which was spent training in the UAE, the Frenchman helped engineer an impressive and crucial 4-0 win away to