Karim Benzema makes memorable return as Al Ittihad thrash Ettifaq

Pressure mounts on Steven Gerrard, while Al Hilal are made to fight for win over Al Shabab

Houssem Aouar of Al Ittihad celebrates scoring his team's third goal against Al Ettifaq with teammate Karim Benzema. Getty Images

Karim Benzema made a triumphant return from injury with a goal and two assists as Saudi Pro League leaders Al Ittihad defeated Ettifaq 4-0 on Saturday.

The former Real Madrid striker missed the previous four games with a muscle problem but was back to his best upon his return, which was too much for Steven Gerrard's struggling Ettifaq.

Benzema netted after 27 minutes following a fine pass from N’Golo Kante but was adjudged by VAR to have been offside. He was in the middle of action again eight minutes later, passing for Kante to open the scoring from just inside the area.

Early in the second half, Benzema extended Ittihad’s lead, pouncing on a loose ball at close range to score his ninth league goal of the season, level with All Nassr great Cristiano Ronaldo and three behind Aleksandar Mitrovic of Al Hilal.

Houssem Aouar made it 3-0 after 66 minutes and, soon after, Benzema’s perfect through pass released Steven Bergwin to add a fourth.

Ettifaq have not won in nine games and are just three points above the relegation zone, increasing the pressure on Gerrard, who was appointed in July 2023.

Last month, the club released Dean Holden, Gerrard's assistant coach, admitting in a statement that results had been unsatisfactory.

“This conference is not the place to talk about dismissing the assistant coach,” Gerrard said on Saturday. “These decisions are the decisions of the board of directors.”

Al Ittihad remained on top, two points clear of Al Hilal, who came back from a goal down to beat Al Shabab 2-1.

Abderrazak Hamdallah put Shabab ahead after six minutes. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic leveled for Hilal eight minutes later, while former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off just before the break.

Nader Al Sharari was booked twice early in the second half as Al Shabab were also reduced to 10 men. After 62 minutes, Milinkovic-Savic curled a free kick into the top corner for the clincher.

Saudi Arabia prepares to welcome World Cup

The kingdom will be waiting for start of the official countdown to the biggest moment in Saudi football history when the Fifa Congress takes place on December 11. There, a vote will be held to officially appoint the hosts for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups.

Saudi Arabia is the lone candidate for 2034 while Morocco, Spain and Portugal have formed a joint bid for the 2030 tournament, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay all set to host a match as part of the centenary edition.

Saudi Arabia's 2034 World Cup bid received a higher technical score from Fifa than the 2026 joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

FIFA released its bid evaluation report and said the 2034 bid received an overall average score of 4.2 out of 5 even though eight stadiums are still to be built.

All venues – including the planned 92,760-seater King Salman International Stadium in Riyadh – will not be completed until 2032 but three new stadiums are expected to be finished for the Asian Cup which kicks off in January 2027.

Meanwhile, the 2026 bid scored 4.0 having initially proposed 23 stadiums – all of which were already built. Eventually, 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup were announced, with many venues being existing NFL stadiums.

"The (Saudi) bid includes some ambitious stadium projects integrated into unique locations, including the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Stadium located within the Qiddiya development and NEOM Stadium located within 'The Line' development," FIFA's report said.

Neom, a Red Sea urban and industrial development nearly the size of Belgium, is central to the kingdom's Vision 2030 plan to create new engines of economic growth.

But some of the schemes have been scaled back after revaluation of cost and benefit.