Al-Khaleej Holds Al-Ittihad To A 1-1 Draw With Last-Minute Penalty From Kostas Fortounis

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Kostas Fortounis secured a dramatic 1-1 draw for Al-Khaleej against Al-Ittihad with a penalty in stoppage time. This result prevented Al-Ittihad from extending their lead to seven points in the Saudi Pro League. Abdullah Al Salem had put Al-Ittihad ahead with a goal 12 minutes before the end, but they couldn't maintain their advantage.

Al-Khaleej started energetically, with Mohammed Al Khabrani forcing a quick save from Predrag Rajkovic just over a minute into the match. In the 31st minute, Al Salem found space and tested Rajkovic again, who managed to deflect the shot wide. Despite these efforts, it was Al-Ittihad who initially took the lead.

Al-Ittihad entered this match on a four-game winning streak in the league, having scored three or more goals in three of those games. However, they faced challenges against Al-Khaleej, managing only three shots in the first half compared to six from their opponents. Despite this, they recorded 1.37 expected goals (xG) in the second half from nine attempts as they sought victory.

The game saw Karim Benzema miss opportunities to score, including a weak shot at Ibrahim Sehic and a low free-kick that went straight into his gloves. Later, Benzema's pass initiated a swift attack that led to Fawaz Al Soqoor delivering a dangerous cross for Al Salem to score at the far post.

In the final moments of the match, Saad Al Mosa's handball blocked Khaled Al Sumairi's attempt to control the ball. This led to Fortounis calmly converting a penalty in the 96th minute to equalise for Al-Khaleej. The result extended Al-Ittihad's unbeaten run against Al-Khaleej to 12 matches (W8 D4).

Despite not securing all three points needed to widen their gap over second-placed Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad maintained their unbeaten record against their opponents. Meanwhile, for hosts Al-Khaleej, this draw marked an important point despite being winless in five matches.

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