Al Hilal's three-man former Premier League strikeforce all delivered as they beat Al Ittihad 3-2 on Saturday to reclaim top spot in the table.
The Riyadh giants reshaped their forward line over the summer, bringing in Ollie Watkins ($60m from Aston Villa), Gabriel Martinelli ($70m from Arsenal) and Crysencio Summerville ($80 million from West Ham) from the English top-flight.
All three came good at Kingdom Arena as Al Ittihad were well beaten despite the close scoreline.
Former Gunners winger Martinelli opened the scoring on 11 minutes before England striker Watkins struck 10 minutes later to make it 2-0. Ittihad summer signing Youssef En-Nesyri quickly pulled one back but Summerville made it 3-1 just after the hour. Steven Bergwijn scored a penalty in the dying stages to complete the scoring.
Watkins was pleased with the three points, but felt he should have had another goal, with him having one chalked off for a questionable handball.
He said: “It was a high-level match, especially as we had just returned from the international break. We trained for many days, but nothing compares to playing a match at full strength.
“It was a top-of-the-table clash, and you can see how important it was to everyone. There is a lot of noise and celebrations, but the most important thing is that we took the three points, and I am very happy.
“Honestly, I scored another goal, but unfortunately it was disallowed,” he added. “I know it was a difficult decision, and I will not comment on it, but I felt it was a valid goal.”
Al Hilal are now two points clear at the top of the table ahead of Al Qadsiah and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr, who beat Diriyah 3-0 on Friday night.
