Al-Ittihad Knocked Out Of Arab Club Champions Cup After Karim Benzema Misses Penalty In Quarter-Final Loss To Al-Hilal
Al-Ittihad 1-3 Al-Hilal
Al-Ittihad captain Karim Benzema missed a penalty kick as the Saudi Arabian champions lost to Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals of the Arab Club Champions Cup on Saturday.
Al-Ittihad had qualified for the last eight by winning all three of their group matches. Benzema scored in each of those victories after signing from Real Madrid earlier this summer.
But Benzema failed to find the net in a game for the first time since his move to Saudi Arabia as Al-Ittihad fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the side that finished third in last season's Saudi Pro League.
Karim Benzema pictured (center) moments before he missed a penalty kick in Al-Ittihad's 3-1 loss to Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals of the Arab Club Champions Cup
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N'Golo Kante also featured in Saturday's game, completing the full match for Al-Ittihad, while Ruben Neves played 87 minutes for Al-Hilal.
But it was another big-name summer recruit who opened the scoring on Saturday night.
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.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic pictured heading the ball to score for Al-Hilal after outjumping Benzema
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Salem Al-Dawsari doubled Al-Hilal's lead by converting a penalty kick just before half-time.
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 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.
Video: Karim Benzema Misses Penalty Against Al-Hilal
This was Al-Ittihad's first defeat in nine games.
Al-Hilal will either face fellow Saudi side Al-Shabab or the UAE's Al Wahda in the semi-finals on Wednesday.