Al Hilal and Mitrovic extend fine start with comfortable Saudi Pro League win over Al Ittihad

Serbian striker scores twice in 3-1 victory at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium

Aleksander Mitrovic scored twice to guide Al Hilal to victory over Al Ittihad. Getty Images

Al Hilal and Aleksandar Mitrovic extended their sensational start to the season on Saturday night as the Serbian striker scored twice in a 3-1 win over Saudi Pro League title rivals Al Ittihad.

After easing to the Saudi Super Cup in the season curtain-raiser, Hilal threatened to deliver a rout when they raced into a 3-0 lead by half-time. Mitrovic struck his first of the night in just the third minute when he met Ruben Neves' curling first-time cross, guiding his header into the bottom corner beyond Ittihad goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

Hilal continued to push forward in search of a second goal, and the hosts doubled their lead from the penalty spot in the 14th minute when Mitrovic slammed the spot kick into the bottom left corner. The Serbian striker now has eight goals in four SPL games and 11 in seven games across all competitions.

Ittihad had a good chance to halve the deficit in the 28th minute, but Karim Benzema's curling effort from inside the area was confidently palmed away by Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou. At the other end, Malcom could have extended Hilal's lead earlier, although his first-time volley was saved by the feet of Rajkovic.

However, two minutes later Hilal got their third following a sweeping move that began with Neves winning the ball inside his own area with a perfectly-timed sliding tackle. The Portuguese midfielder then advanced the ball and sent a pass into the path of left winger Salem Al Dawsari, who broke clear of the Ittihad defence, cut across the area, and angled his shot around the onrushing Rajkovic.

Hilal continued to pour forward after the break as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic saw his long-range effort fizz just wide, an unmarked Al Dawsari sent a header over the bar, and Mitrovic had a shot saved by the Ittihad keeper.

Against the run of play, Ittihad scored their consolation with five minutes remaining when Moussa Diaby burst through the Hilal defensive line and squared to fellow Frenchman Benzema to slot into an empty net.

Hilal, who stormed to the SPL title by going unbeaten last season, have now won their first four matches of the new campaign, while it was a first defeat for Ittihad. They also opened their Asian Champions League bid with a win.

Also on Saturday, Al Shabab defeated Al Taawoun 1-0, courtesy of a 25th-minute penalty from striker Abderrazak Hamdallah, and Al Riyadh struck late to beat Al Raed 2-1.

Hosts Raed were reduced to 10 men in the 27th minute with the sending off of Oumar Gonzalez but took the lead in the 71st through Amir Sayoud. However, Riyadh equalised eight minutes later through Faiz Selemani before Mohamed Konate hit the winner in the fifth minute of injury time.

Ronaldo returns to lead Al Nassr victory

Earlier in the round, Al Nassr won their first game under new manager Stefano Pioli with a 3-0 victory at Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring on his return to the team.

Nassr parted ways with former manager Luis Castro following an indifferent start to the season and immediately replaced him with ex-AC Milan head coach Pioli. The Italian was able to recall Ronaldo to his first starting XI after the Portuguese captain missed Nassr's opening Asian Champions League match with a viral infection.

Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot, before goals from Salem Al Najdi and Anderson Talisca scored in the second half to deliver the ideal start to the Pioli reign.

In Jeddah, Ivan Toney scored his first goals for Al Ahli in a 4-2 win over Damac. With the match level 1-1 at half-time after goals from Gabri Veiga and Ayman Fallatah, Toney restored Ahli's lead one minute after the interval. Damac equalised again through Farouk Chafai, before late goals from Roberto Firmino and a second from Toney, signed in the summer from Premier League club Brentford, secured the victory.