On August 5th, Al-Ittihad and Karim Benzema suffered a bitter loss to rivals Al-Hilal in the Arab Club Champions Cup, dashing their hopes of victory. Although they had won all three group games with a perfect record during the regional tournament, Al-Ittihad was unable to overcome Al-Hilal’s dominance in the Saudi version of El Clasico. Despite adding Fabinho, Jota, and Benzema to their league-winning squad, Al-Ittihad fell short against their fierce competitors. The game saw former Lazio captain Sergej Milinkovic-Savic score the first goal, putting Al-Ittihad on the back foot. They were further pushed back when Al Dawsari scored a penalty kick just before halftime, increasing Al-Hilal’s lead to 2-0. Al-Ittihad managed to cut the deficit in the second half with Romarinho’s goal but was unable to make a full comeback when former Barcelona winger Malcom scored the third decisive goal. A crucial moment in the game came when Karim Benzema missed a penalty kick, denying Al-Ittihad the opportunity to equalize. As a result, Al-Ittihad’s Arab Cup campaign ended in the quarterfinals with a final score of 3-1, while Al-Hilal advanced to the semifinals to face Iraqi side Al Shorta.
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Karim Benzema’s unfortunate penalty miss
In a recent sports update, it was mentioned that Karim Benzema missed a pivotal penalty during his debut in Saudi Arabia’s version of El Clasico between Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal. The match ended with Al-Hilal clinching a 3-1 victory, securing their spot in the semifinals. Unfortunately, the French footballer’s failure to convert the penalty in the 78th minute only added to the unexpected defeat suffered by Al-Ittihad.
