Gabriel Martinelli took just 32 minutes to score his first three goals for Al Hilal at Al Taawoun on Saturday, a rapid-fire hat-trick that pushed the Riyadh side two points clear of Al Nassr in the standings.
The Brazilian, who joined from Arsenal late in the summer transfer window, struck in the 18th, 43rd and 50th minutes. Ollie Watkins had opened the scoring in the 12th minute and added a second in the 53rd, before Sultan Mandash rounded off Al Hilal’s 6-0 win in the 75th minute.
It was only Martinelli’s third appearance for the club, and it came five days after Al Hilal had been beaten 2-0 at home by NEOM, an upset that ended a perfect league start.
“Yeah, I mean, this is why I’m here. I’ve said it from the beginning, I’m here to help the team,” Martinelli said after his first goals for the club.
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Ronaldo goalless again on 979
Earlier the same day, Al Nassr had passed up the chance to close on Al Hilal at the top. Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes at Al Khaleej but failed to score, leaving his career total on 979, still 21 short of the 1,000-goal milestone.
Omar Mascarell headed the hosts in front in first-half stoppage time, and Abdullah Al-Hamdan spared Al Nassr a second consecutive away defeat with an equaliser after 72 minutes.
Postecoglou blames fixture pile-up
Ange Postecoglou pointed the finger at a punishing schedule rather than his players.
“I think everyone is exhausted. Even Al Hilal lost to Neom, so the fixture congestion is taking its toll. We’ve played around eight matches in less than a month,” the Al Nassr manager told reporters.
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“I’m not making excuses, but what I want to get across is that the players have not let us down.”
The draw leaves Al Nassr third on 16 points, with Al Ittihad on 17 and Al Hilal ahead on 18.
Both title rivals return to action on Tuesday in the AFC Champions League Elite. Al Nassr travel to Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates, while Al Hilal host Al Gharafa.
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