Honours even between Al Nassr and Al Hilal in Capital Derby | OneFootball

Al Hilal dropped points for the first time this Roshn Saudi League season following an evenly contested 1-1 Capital Derby draw against Al Nassr on Friday.

Despite the result, Jorge Jesus’ men retain their position at the top of the table, with their advantage ahead of Al Ittihad now cut to only one point. Al Hilal’s unbeaten record in the league now extends to 45 matches, dating back to the 2022-23 season. Meanwhile, Al Nassr remain in third place, six points behind the league leaders.

A fiery start at Al Awwal Park saw the home crowd sent wild in celebration within 55 seconds, as Otavio found Anderson Talisca with a pinpoint delivery inside the Al Hilal penalty area and the Brazilian controlled before firing with his weaker right foot into the bottom corner to put Al Nassr in front.

The Hilal response nearly arrived instantly, when Malcom broke free down the right flank and looked to find the back of the net. However, the Brazilian was promptly denied by a fine save from compatriot Bento in the home goal.

Al Hilal did put the ball in the back of the net seven minutes before the end of the first half, Aleksandar Mitrovic poking home from close range after Kalidou Koulibaly had nodded the ball into his path, but the Serbian forward was flagged offside.

There was time, though, for one more overturned goal before the half-time whistle, after Otavio and Talisca combined again. Yet, just like Mitrovic, the Brazilian had stepped behind the last defender and his celebration was cut short by the offside flag.

The second half picked up exactly where the first dropped off, with yet another disallowed goal - this time courtesy of Talisca, who was in the right place to slot home on the rebound after goalkeeper Yassine Bono parried Marcelo Brozovic’s shot into his path. Again, Taslica had strayed narrowly offside and, as a result, had a second goal ruled out.

Al Hilal then came closest to scoring shortly after the hour, when Renan Lodi fed Salem Al Dawsari down the left and the club captain curled one from the edge of the area into the upright. The rebound fell to Lodi, whose follow-up shot was brilliantly saved by Bento.

With 13 minutes left on the clock, Al Hilal drew level thanks to a Lodi delivery from the left that found Sergej Milinkovic-Savic at the far post, inviting the former Lazio captain to power a header in off the post to restore parity.

Despite several missed chances in the final minutes, most notably by Al Nassr substitute Mohammed Marran, the teams settled for their share of the spoils, with both remaining the only two sides yet to lose in the RSL this season.