Five memorable Al Shabab v Al Hilal derbies | OneFootball

With the Riyadh derby between Al Shabab and Al Hilal rounding off Matchweek 12 of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League on Saturday night, we look back at some of the fixture's classic clashes.

Al Hilal 0-2 Al Shabab (September 2011)

Just one week into the 2011-12 campaign, RSL League fans were in for a key clash that would have an important impact on the fate of the title that year as Al Hilal welcomed Al Shabab to the King Fahd Sports City in Matchweek 2.

Both sides had started the season with wins; Al Shabab beating Al Faisaly 3-1 and Al Hilal edging Hajer 2-1, so their match-up was an opportunity to take an early lead in the championship race.

Al Hilal started on the front foot, with Mohammed Al Shalhoub and Youssef El Arabi missing chances early on, but it was at the other end where the first goal of the night arrived midway through the opening period. Guinean winger Ibrahima Yattara sent in a cross from the left that was poked home by Nasser Al Shamrani for Al Shabab’s opener.

The Saudi international, who would go on to finish as that campaign’s RSL top scorer with 21 goals, doubled his tally in identical fashion to put the game to bed.

Al Hilal’s evening went from bad to worse with Achille Emana receiving his marching orders following a heavy challenge late on to leave his side with 10 men.

Al Shabab would go on to win 17 of their next 24 matches and achieve the rare feat of claiming the RSL title without a single defeat, while Al Hilal’s title defence fell at the final hurdle - they finished four points behind in third place.

Al Hilal 3-2 Al Shabab (May 2019)

Al Hilal went into the last matchday of the 2018-19 season knowing that a derby win against Al Shabab coupled with Al Nassr losing their simultaneous kick-off at home against Al Batin would give the capital's blue side the title.

For Al Shabab, victory over their city rivals meant a fourth-place finish and a spot in the AFC Champions League at the expense of Al Ahli.

Under interim-coach Pericles Chamusca, Al Hilal wasted no time to take the lead inside seven minutes as Mohammed Al Burayk crossed for Bafetimbi Gomis, who produced an exquisite overhead finish to open the scoring.

The second half started in exactly the same way as the first. with Al Burayk again providing the creative spark for a goal seven minutes in. This time around, the right-back cut inside to break into the Al Shabab penalty area, returning Sebastian Giovinco’s pass for the Italian to slot home with his left for his side’s second.

There was time for the away side to pull one back as Romanian midfielder Constantin Budescu found Brazilian Seba, who drilled into the bottom corner from 25 yards out to half the deficit.

The comeback looked to be complete in the final minutes of the game thanks to current Al Nassr midfielder Abdulmajeed Al Sulaihem finishing off an attack started by Hassan Al Raheb and involving a Seba cross for Al Sulaihem to drive home for the leveller.

However, Al Hilal revived their title hopes in added time when Gomis added his second goal of the night from the penalty spot to win it for the blue side of Riyadh. The win, though, proved too little too late; Al Nassr overcame Al Batin thanks to an Abderrazak Hamdallah brace to capture the league crown.

Al Shabab 1-5 Al Hilal (May 2021)

The 2020-21 season saw one of the most epic RSL title battles between the two Riyadh rivals - and at the heart of it was their direct clash with four games left in the campaign.

By the time Al Hilal travelled to the north of the city, they sat top, three points ahead of Al Shabab, with Al Ittihad a further point behind in third. However, once the final whistle blew, all doubts were cleared.

There was no messing about from Al Hilal as Giovinco’s cross found the head of Gomis at the far post to open the scoring within 120 seconds, but Al Shabab proved just as determined, restoring parity in the fourth minute thanks to current Al Khaleej captain Fabio Martins.

Just like in 2019, Gomis secured his personal double from the spot in the 24th minute, but the first-half drama was far from over. Al Shabab captain Ever Banega was sent-off before the break for a couple of late challenges and Al Hilal took full advantage, Luciano Vietto snatching the ball deep inside the opposition half and applied a delicious, dinked finish past for 3-1.

After the restart, Al Shabab’s defence collapsed to allow Andre Carrillo to set up youngster Nasser Al Dawsari for the fourth before Mohammed Kanno completed the rout with his side’s fifth.

Al Hilal dropped points the very next matchweek, drawing 1-1 at home against Al Batin, but to their luck, Al Shabab fell to a 4-3 defeat at Al Ettifaq, practically surrendering the title. Al Hilal went on to end the campaign four points clear to lift the trophy.

Al Shabab 3-0 Al Hilal (April 2023)

The 2022-23 season was not the best for both Riyadh clubs as they finished third and fourth behind eventual champions Al Ittihad and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.

At Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City, Al Shabab ran riot, leaving their opponents chasing shadows as they emerged 3-0 victorious. After a goalless first half, Hussein Al Qahtani, currently of Al Qadsiah, got Al Shabab up and running, the attacking midfielder controlling Fawaz Al Saqour’s cross and drilling into the bottom corner past Abdullah Al Mayouf.

The lead was doubled in style in the 68th minute as Banega intelligently supplied a low ball for Cristian Guanca to place it expertly into the corner for 2-0. In his last derby appearance before swapping Al Hilal for Al Shabab, Colombian midfield enforcer Gustavo Cuellar was sent off following an altercation with Aaroun Boupendza.

Al Hilal’s miserable night continued with the resounding victory sealed thanks to one of their own, with Hattan Bahebri striking home the third against his former team to seal a famous derby victory for Al Shabab.

Al Hilal 4-3 Al Shabab (March 2024)

The most recent in a long series of thrilling derbies was last season's seven-goal bonanza at the new Al Shabab Stadium.

As fate would have it, it was none other than Musab Al Juwayr, on loan from Al Hilal to Al Shabab, who opened the scoring against his parent club with a well-taken strike from distance only just three minutes.

Al Hilal drew level in the 20th minute after Aleksandar Mitrovic was brought down inside the away penalty area and then stepped up to convert home from the penalty spot. The Serbian then added his second seven minutes later with the simplest of tap-ins from point-blank after being set up by his compatriot Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who then himself finished off Ruben Neves’ delivery for the third before the break.

The margin was stretched thanks to club captain Salem Al Dawsari, who swept home Michael’s cross from the right flank just before the hour-mark.

A late Al Shabab rally saw left-back Hussein Al Sibyani score an exceptional solo goal before Moroccan centre-back Romain Saiss bagged the pick of the goals with a curled free-kick that left compatriot Yassine Bono helpless in the Al Hilal goal.

The final whistle would come just too soon for Al Shabab, although they had showed once more that they are a worthy rival, even with the points beyond their reach against an Al Hilal side that went on to secure the title unbeaten.