Al-Shabab draw 1-1 with Al-Hilal to maintain Roshn Saudi League lead

Monday night’s highly anticipated clash between Roshn Saudi League leaders Al-Shabab and reigning champions Al-Hilal ended in a 1-1 draw.

Al-Shabab dropped their first points of the season but retain top spot in the league with 19 points from a possible 21, while Al-Hilal find themselves in fourth position with 14 points, behind third-place Al-Ittihad on goal difference. Meanwhile Al-Tai, who defeated Al-Raed 2-0 on Monday and sit in second place on 15 points, have emerged as the season’s surprise package at this early stage.

Moussa Marega opened the scoring for Al-Hilal on 21 minutes and the home team managed to hold on to the lead going into the break.

Only 11 minutes into the second half, however, the league leaders hit back with an equalizer from Carlos Carvalho. Despite dominating in terms of shot count (16-8) and possession (53-47 percent), Al-Hilal failed to add to their tally as one of the season’s most-anticipated fixtures confirmed that there remains very little to separate the two teams, despite Al-Shabab opening up an early-season lead over the reigning champions.

In Monday’s third match, Al-Wehda beat Al-Batin 2-0.