The 10-season curse: Al-Hilal's hat-trick plunges Al-Ahli into a "September" nightmare

September continues to haunt Al-Ahli. Tuesday brought a heavy 3-0 defeat to Al-Hilal in the rescheduled third-round fixture of the Roshn Saudi Pro League.

Al-Hilal moved to 12 points from four straight wins, topping the table ahead of runners-up Al-Nassr on goal difference alone.

Al-Ahli, meanwhile, dropped to seventh on 6 points. It was their second league defeat of the season, following the loss to Al-Khaleej.

According to "Al Arabiya Net", Al-Ahli have now failed to win their first September fixture for the tenth season running in the Pro League.

Across the previous nine seasons, they drew five and lost four of those September openers. On Tuesday, Al-Hilal handed them a fifth defeat.

Their last win in a September opener came back in 2015, a 2-0 victory over Al-Wehda.

Al-Hilal, by contrast, kept their September-opener record unblemished for the tenth season in a row. That run now stands at eight wins and two draws.