Benzema grabs hat-trick to help seal crucial win for Al-Ittihad

JEDDAH: Karim Benzema scored his first hat-trick for Al-Ittihad on Friday as the reigning Roshn Saudi League champions defeated Abha 4-2 and made a much-needed return to winning ways.

It had been a tough week for the Jeddah giants, with the dismissal of head coach Nuno Santo on Tuesday evening less than six months after he led the team to their first Saudi league title since 2009.

The Portuguese tactician was axed following a 2-0 defeat in the Asian Champions League by Iraqi side Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. This followed a run of five games in the domestic league without a win, which left the Jeddah giants languishing in sixth place, 11 points behind leaders Al-Hilal.

Friday night’s performance, under interim coach Hassan Khalifa, was a much-improved effort from the Tigers, who attacked from the first whistle to the last. It was therefore little surprise when they broke the deadlock, seven minutes before the break.

Benzema, who it is rumored had fallen out with Santo, tumbled over in the area and, after a lengthy check with the video assistant referee, a penalty was awarded. The French striker stepped up to fire home from the spot.

Abha, who arrived in Jeddah on the back of three successive victories in the league and King’s Cup, had looked threatening throughout most of the game, however, and managed to get back on level terms just six minutes after the restart, courtesy of Karl Toko Ekambi.

The Cameroonian striker, who had scored in each of the his two games, swept the ball home from close range after Marcelo Grohe palmed away a shot from Abha skipper Saad Bguir.

Within three minutes, however, Al-Ittihad were ahead again. A spinning backheel pass from Benzema inside the area fed Igor Coronado and the Brazilian fired