Karim Benzema scored his first Saudi Pro League hat trick to help champions Al Ittihad to a 4-2 home win over Abha at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah on Friday.
The ex-Real Madrid striker opened the scoring from the penalty spot on Friday before adding two further goals in the second half to help his side to a 4-2 win against Abha. Al-Ittihad’s victory ended a five-match winless streak in the league that contributed to the fallout between Benzema and Nuno.
The 35-year-old gave his side the lead in the 38th minute as he confidently guided a penalty beyond former Fiorentina and AC Milan goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu in the Abha goal. There was plenty more to come from the former France international as he scored twice in as many minutes midway through the second half to make the win safe for Al Ittihad.
Both goals came from clinical finishes after Benzema was put one-on-one with the opposition goalkeeper following quick breakaways. One-time Lyon striker Karl Toko Ekambi drew Abha level five minutes into the second half but Al-Ittihad hit back quickly through Brazilian Igor Coronado.
The hat-trick moved the French striker up to joint third in the standings for top scorer, with only Cristiano Ronaldo and Aleksandr Mitrovic having found the net more than him. Fahad Bin Jumayah pulled one back late on for Abha but it was not enough to prevent Benzema from grabbing the headlines for the second time this week.