JEDDAH — Al Ittihad pulled off a stunning comeback against Al Kholood, overturning a two-goal deficit to secure a thrilling 4-3 victory at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in the final match of Matchweek 18 in the Saudi Pro League. The victory kept Al Ittihad firmly in the title race, leveling their points tally with league leaders Al Hilal at 46, though trailing on head-to-head record. Meanwhile, Al Kholood remained in 12th place with 19 points. Al Kholood started strong, shocking the home crowd with an early goal from William Ekong in the 15th minute. Moments later, Meziani Maolida doubled the visitors' lead, leaving Al Ittihad trailing by two goals in a surprising turn of events. With the hosts struggling to find their rhythm, the match took a dramatic shift in the 35th minute when Houssam Aouar's solo effort set up Abdulrahman Al-Aboud, who slotted home Ittihad's first goal. The breakthrough reignited the team's fighting spirit as they pushed forward in search of an equalizer. Just before halftime, the referee awarded Al Ittihad a penalty after a VAR review, which Dutch forward Steven Bergwijn confidently converted in the ninth minute of stoppage time, leveling the score at 2-2. Early in the second half, Al Ittihad quickly seized the lead when Hassan Kadish fired home their third goal. Bergwijn then struck again, netting his second of the night to give the hosts a commanding 4-2 advantage. Al Kholood refused to back down, with Maolida finding the net again in the second minute of stoppage time to bring the score to 4-3. However, Al Ittihad managed to hold on in the dying moments to seal a crucial victory and collect all three points. With this dramatic win, Al Ittihad maintains pressure on Al Hilal at the top of the table as the title race intensifies in the Saudi Pro League.
