Repercussions of the Clasico on Al Hilal and Al Ittihad: the Leader's gains and the Dean's crises!
Who is the biggest beneficiary?
Al Hilal's 3-2 win over Al Ittihad was far more than another classico. The Zaeem stretched their lead at the top of the Saudi Roshn League, while Al Ittihad tasted defeat in the competition for the first time this season, leaving coach Jens Wissing to answer a string of technical and disciplinary questions after a fiery night both inside the stadium and beyond it.
Simone Inzaghi took a serious morale boost from beating a direct rival. The match also laid bare problems in both camps.
Top spot and confidence went to Al Hilal, but their defensive work was anything but flawless. Al Ittihad lost yet proved they could claw their way back into the scoreline, and then the final whistle blew and everything kicked off, opening a fresh front in the controversy.
Al Hilal strengthen their lead at the top: Inzaghi regains confidence
Al Hilal were the biggest beneficiaries of the Clasico result, having moved to 21 points at the top of the Roshn League, stretching their lead over Al Ittihad to four points.
For Inzaghi, the win buys him breathing space after a spell of heavy criticism. It arrived against a direct rival, too, in a game that squeezed both sides.
Gabriel Martinelli, Ollie Watkins and Crysencio Summerville handed him another lift up front, all three playing their part in making the difference and settling the contest.
The defensive balance still needs work, though. Al Ittihad scored twice and came close to piling on the pressure in the closing minutes, after Steven Bergwijn's penalty in the 89th minute.
Al-Ittihad and Vicente: defensive errors in need of review
Al Ittihad, meanwhile, took a telling blow. A first defeat ended their unbeaten start to the league campaign and left them four points adrift of Al Hilal.
Their biggest worry is the back line. Gaps opened up all over it, and individual errors handed Al Hilal the chances they needed to find the net. Vicenzo now has to look again at his defensive positioning and how his side protect the spaces behind the full-backs.
Read also: En-Nesyri in the dock, and the reason is Yassine Bounou!
Going forward, though, Al Ittihad still carried a threat. Youssef En-Nesyri hauled them back into the contest, then Bergwijn cut the deficit in the closing minutes. They can hurt Al Hilal even with the scoreline against them.
Vicenzo will want to build on that. He also has to fix the mistakes that cost his side a defeat in a fixture that matters in the title race.
Post-match altercation: a new crisis dogs Al-Ameed
The Clasico fallout did not stop at the result. Al-Ittihad's players confronted referee Khalid Al-Turais after the final whistle, furious at when he blew up following a delay over a throw-in in the closing seconds.
Several Al-Ittihad players piled in to protest, and goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic went as far as trying to get at the referee before security officials stepped in to calm things down.
That leaves Al-Ittihad with another headache. The competent authorities may review the incident on the basis of the match reports, and disciplinary measures could follow against those involved in line with what the official reports establish.
Al-Hilal, then, walked away with top spot and a hefty dose of confidence. Al-Ittihad must now fix their technical problems and contain the fallout from the aftermath of the match, or a Clasico defeat could spiral into a prolonged crisis across the coming rounds.
