Al-Ittihad captain Karim Benzema missed a penalty kick as the Saudi Arabian champions lost 3-1 to Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals of the Arab Club Champions Cup on Saturday.
Al-Ittihad had stormed the last eight by winning all three of their group matches and Benzema, who had scored in each of those victories after signing from Real Madrid earlier this summer, failed to find the net in a game for the first time since his move to Saudi Arabia as Al-Ittihad fell to defeat at the hands of the side that finished third in last season’s Saudi Pro League.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – who moved to Saudi Arabia from Lazio for a fee in the region of €40 million in July – put Al-Hilal 1-0 up with an excellent header in the 14th minute after outjumping Benzema inside the 18-yard box before Salem Al-Dawsari doubled their lead by converting a penalty kick just before the half-time break.
However, Romarinho got to a cross ahead of Kalidou Koulibaly to pull a goal back for Al-Ittihad 10 minutes into the second half, sparking hope of a comeback but Malcolm restored Al-Hilal’s two-goal lead with a low header from close range a quarter of an hour later. Al-Ittihad then had a golden chance to get back into the game 12 minutes from the end when they were awarded a penalty but Benzema’s spot-kick hit the outside of the post.
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