Benzema scores first goal in Saudi Arabia’s professional soccer league. Salah also rumored to move to Saudi Arabia
2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema (France) has scored his first goal in the Saudi Arabian Professional Football League.
Benzema’s club Al Ittihad defeated Al Ahli 4-0 in the third round of the 2023-2024 Saudi Arabian Professional Football League at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday (Nov. 24).
Benzema, who started and played until the end of the match, scored the opening goal in the 17th minute.
Benzema, who played full time in the first and second rounds but failed to score, scored his first goal of the day and added a second in stoppage time to lead the team to their third straight win.
Al Ahli have now scored nine goals and kept a clean sheet in the three matches to take sole possession of the league lead.
In addition to Benzema, the club has added a number of “big names” from Europe, including N’Golo Kante, Zotta, and Fabinho, ahead of the 2023-2024 season.
Al Ahly have been drawn in Group C of the 2023-2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League.
Al Hilal, featuring Neymar (Brazil), and Alnasr, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), were in Groups D and E, respectively.
The AFC Champions League is divided between West and East Asia until the quarterfinals, but there is a possibility of a Saudi Arabian team facing a K League team in the final.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that Al Ittihad are also interested in signing Muhammad Salah, who plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League. Al Ahli has Fabinho, who played with Salah at Liverpool.
“Liverpool, however, have no intention of matching any offer from Al Ahly,” ESPN reported, quoting an unnamed source as saying.
Salah signed a three-year contract with Liverpool last year.
However, 먹튀검증 ESPN noted that “the Saudi league’s transfer market runs until Sept. 20, so additional European players could head to the kingdom.”