Al Nassr v Al Hilal: Cristiano Ronaldo draws a blank as Capital Derby finishes all square

Hilal stay top after Milinkovic-Savic's header rescues a point for Jorge Jesus' side at Al Awwal Park

Al Hilal's Malcom, right, is put under pressure by Nawaf Boushal of Al Nassr.

It finished all square in the Capital Derby as Al Hilal dropped points for the first time this season after being held to a 1-1 draw against Riyadh rivals Al Nassr.

Hilal remain top of the Saudi Pro League, one point better off than Al Ittihad, who clinched a 1-0 win over Al Ahli on Thursday in Jeddah's Sea Derby. Nassr remain in third place, six points behind the league leaders.

Cristiano Ronaldo's recent mini slump in front of goal continued as the Portuguese again drew a blank. The Nassr captain posted a defiant message after the game, saying: "The battle is far from over. Thank you all for the support today!"

A fiery start at Al Awwal Park saw the home crowd sent wild in celebration within 55 seconds, as Otavio found Anderson Talisca with a perfect ball and the Brazilian controlled expertly efore firing into the bottom corner to put Al Nassr in front.

Hilal almost equalised straight away, with Brazil forward Malcom forcing a fine save from home goalkeeper Bento.

Aleksandar Mitrovic thought he had added to his league-leading 10 goals for the season just before half time. The Serb slotted home after defender Kalidou Koulibaly had nodded the ball into his path, but the Serbian forward was flagged offside.

There was time, though, for one more overturned goal before the half-time whistle, after Otavio and Talisca combined again. Yet, just like Mitrovic, the Brazilian's celebrations were cut short by the linesman's flag.

Talisca had a second goal ruled out just after the interval. The Nassr forward was on hand to slot home after Hilal keeper Bono could only parry a Marcelo Brozovic effort into his path but the Brazilian was again judged offside.

Hilal captain Salem Al Dawsari rattled the upright with a curling right foot effort after cutting in from the left. The rebound fell to Lodi, whose follow-up shot was brilliantly saved by Bento.

With time ticking away, Hilal poured forward in search of an equaliser and it duly arrived courtesy of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Lodi picked out the Serb midfielder with a pinpoint cross at the former Lazio captain beat Bento with a powerful header to level the score.

Despite several missed chances in the final minutes, most notably by Al Nassr substitute Mohammed Marran, the teams settled for their share of the spoils, with both remaining the only two sides yet to lose in the league this season.

In the process, Jorge Jesus' Al Hilal extended their unbeaten record in the SPL to 45 matches.

The league's inaugural Derby Week concludes on Saturday when Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq entertain Al Qadsiah in the Eastern Derby.