Al Ahli reclaimed top spot in the Saudi Pro League but needed a Milan Borjan own goal before seeing off a plucky Al Riyadh.
Matthias Jaissle's side arrived in the capital riding a four-game win streak and looking to overhaul Al Nassr, whose emphatic victory over basement club Al Najmah 24 hours earlier had sent them to the summit.
Brojan proved a tough nut to crack in the Riyadh goal, denying Ahli with a string of fine saves.
The best of them arguably was reserved to keep out a stinging Ivan Toney volley, with the England hopeful looking to add to his league-leading 23 goals this term.
Riyadh's Portuguese striker Toze had Edouard Mendy worried with a long-range effort that hit the side netting.
Galeno had a goal chalked off for offside just before the hour mark, but an error by Borjan proved costly for the home side on 75 minutes.
The Canadian misjudged an inswinging corner and accidentally punched the ball into his own net.
Despite his protests of infringement by Ahli midfielder Franck Kessie, the goal stood.
Ahli had another goal ruled out on 85 minutes following a VAR review. Toney applied a calm finish to a Roger Ibanez pass before the goal was ruled out for offside.
Cristiano Ronaldo's brace in Nassr's 5-0 thumping of Najmah on Wednesday took him to 22 league goals for the season, leaving him level with Al Qadsiah's Julian Quinones and one behind Ahli frontman Toney.
Seeing the Portuguese superstar among the goals is nothing new. A more surprising name on the scoresheet was defender Inago Martinez.
Speaking after receiving the man of the match award, the summer signing from Barcelona said: "I'm happy, especially for the victory. It's very important to keep winning, to keep being leaders in the league.
“And obviously it's always a pleasure to score, to help. But the most important thing for me is to defend. Today, I also scored a goal, and I think that's more than enough for me.”
The shutout of Najmah, who prop up the rest of the table on eight points, was Nassr's sixth clean sheet in as many SPL matches.
“It's vital,” Martinez said of Nassr's impregnable defence. “We know that, if we keep a clean sheet, we generate a lot of chances, and we always score one or two goals. This is the path we have to follow.
“We have to continue with this ambition, with this enthusiasm, and we hope to give more joy to the fans.”
Third-place Al Hilal are in action Friday when they travel to Jeddah to face Al Shabab, while Al Qadsiah, in fourth, take on fifth-placed Al Taawoun.
