47,661 fans watched as Al-Ittihad held on for a stunning 2-1 victory over Al-Nassr at the Al-Inma Stadium on Matchday 5 of the Saudi Pro League. George Ilenikhena scored a brace for the hosts before Al-Nassr pulled one back through Angelo.

2026/2027 Saudi Professional League

2-1

Match Report

In a night filled with drama, George Ilenikhena emerged as the true standout. Just last month, he was still a relatively unknown quantity at Al-Ittihad, with Youssef En-Nesyri seemingly entrenched in the striker position in Jens Wissing's lineup. A brace against Al-Najma in the King Cup followed, before the winning goal against Al-Qadsiah on Matchday 2 further cemented him as one of the players to watch this season.

It still came as a surprise to see Wissing bench En-Nesyri for the clash against Al-Nassr. Ilenikhena had been in good form, but analysts on SPL broadcaster Thmanyah had previously argued it was still early to claim Ilenikhena was a better fit for the starting role.

It took Ilenikhena just 22 minutes to silence the doubters.

Al-Nassr were caught off guard by Al-Ittihad's setup, with Steven Bergwijn and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi positioned in the half-spaces to allow their full-backs to stretch the pitch in behind Sadio Mane and Kingsley Coman.

This paid off as early as the fourth minute, when right-back Ahmed Al-Julaydan received the ball in space in the final third and delivered a cross to Bergwijn, whose shot was parried by Al-Nassr goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi before striking the post. The ball bounced back perfectly for Ilenikhena, who left Al-Aqidi — scrambling to cover his far post — with no answer, heading home into the bottom corner.

Ilenikhena appeared to have scored his second in the 18th minute, receiving the ball in behind the Al-Nassr defense before blasting past Al-Aqidi. But his shoulder was ahead of the nearest defender, and the goal was ruled out for offside.

He did not have to wait long, however. Houssem Aouar delivered a lobbed through ball in behind the defense, which the striker latched onto before guiding the ball over Al-Aqidi to complete his brace just four minutes later — a marvelous finish.

Al-Nassr found themselves in a similar situation to their defeat against Al-Ettifaq earlier in the season, albeit with all 11 players on the pitch. They were undone by Wissing's targeted game plan, visibly struggling with the Jeddah humidity and giving up acres of space for Al-Ittihad to exploit on the counter.

Ange Postecoglou made a series of adjustments in the first half to help Al-Nassr find a way back into the game. Right-back Nawaf Boushal was tasked with tracking Bergwijn, while Al-Ittihad were forced to build away from their double pivot as Samu Costa kept tabs on Dion Lopy and Angelo stayed close to Mukhtar Ali.

This allowed the visitors to regain control of the midfield, which proved telling in the 36th minute, when Angelo sparked a chain of events that led to his goal.

A combination down the left with Salem Al-Najdi carried the Brazilian into midfield, where he found Cristiano Ronaldo in between the lines. Ronaldo then produced a mesmerizing first-touch lob over the Al-Ittihad defense, which fell to Joao Felix just outside the six-yard box, only for Danilo Pereira to press him into Predrag Rajkovic.

Despite Rajkovic's save, the ball broke to Angelo for the rebound — who struck past both Rajkovic and Pereira, the latter attempting to keep the ball out with a header off the line.

The goal appeared set to give Al-Nassr a boost going into the second half — and it did, even as Al-Ittihad enjoyed a dominant opening 10 minutes after the break. The statistics told the story, with almost all key metrics more than doubling across the second 45.

Unfortunately for Al-Nassr, Rajkovic's output also doubled in the second half, with the Serbian keeping out five efforts to deny a series of dangerous chances. His most impressive stop came in the 90th minute, when Felix slipped Mane through on goal, only for Rajkovic to deny him with a remarkable save, getting his head to the effort to keep it out.

Angelo continued to be the focal point for Al-Nassr until his substitution in the 78th minute, giving everything to help his side salvage at least a point. However, once Ilenikhena was replaced by En-Nesyri in the 67th minute, Angelo's crosses became increasingly ineffective — the Moroccan striker proving a significant defensive presence for Al-Ittihad.

While Ilenikhena was the star on the scoresheet, few Al-Ittihad fans will forget the contribution of En-Nesyri to the cause. In the dying moments, with Al-Nassr's Aiman Yahya bearing down on goal, En-Nesyri tracked back to the left-back position to deny him a shot.

Al-Nassr's night ended on a sour note when substitute Abdullah Al-Khaibari blazed a last-ditch effort wide from range — Postecoglou burying his head in his hands as the referee sounded the final whistle.

The victory moves Al-Ittihad up to fourth place on 11 points, just one behind Al-Nassr, who have now suffered their first defeat of the season. Al-Ittihad remain unbeaten, though two draws have left them feeling they could be in a better position, especially after beating Al-Nassr.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!


4' GOAL! Al-Ittihad Club 1-0 Al Nassr FC (George Ilenikhena)


22' GOAL! Al-Ittihad Club 2-0 Al Nassr FC (George Ilenikhena)



36' GOAL! Al-Ittihad Club 2-1 Al Nassr FC (Ângelo)



51' Highlight from Al-Ittihad Club vs Al Nassr FC


52' Match Event for Al-Ittihad Club vs Al Nassr FC


56' Highlight from Al-Ittihad Club vs Al Nassr FC


59' Match Event for Al-Ittihad Club vs Al Nassr FC


69' Match Event for Al-Ittihad Club vs Al Nassr FC


76' Highlight from Al-Ittihad Club vs Al Nassr FC


78' Highlight from Al-Ittihad Club vs Al Nassr FC


81' Match Event for Al-Ittihad Club vs Al Nassr FC


Line-ups

Al-Ittihad Club XI: Danilo Pereira, P. Rajković, Bergwijn, Mukhtar Ali, Aouar, Dion Lopy, Faris Abdi, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, Hasan Kadesh, Ahmed Al-Julaydan, George Ilenikhena

Subs: Saleh Al-Shehri, En-Nesyri, Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti, Richard Ríos, Mohammed Barnawi, Marwan Al-Sahafi, Muath Faqihi, Mohammed Al-Absi, Rakan Kaabi

Al Nassr FC XI: Ronaldo, Mane, Coman, Felix, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Mohamed Simakan, Samú Costa, Nawaf Boushal, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Ângelo, Salem Al Najdi

Subs: Sami Al-Najei, Abdullah Alkhaibari, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Nader Al-Sharari, Bento, Ayman Yahya, Saad Al-Nasser, Awad Aman, Saad Haqawi