Al-Khaleej Saihat and Al-Riyadh played out a 0-0 draw in the Pro League's sixth matchday at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium. The hosts dominated possession but could not find a breakthrough against a visitors side that refused to go away. We had backed the home side for victory, confidence 47 per cent, but the match took a different turn. By then, neither team could muster more than a single shot on target between them.
Al-Khaleej controlled the tempo early on, probing with crosses and keeping the ball. Mahmoud Trezeguet came off at the 14th minute, and the visitors responded with their own changes. Hussain Al Shurafa picked up a yellow card at 42 minutes, and the match grew tighter. Hassan Hashim Al-Ali also saw a booking at 59 minutes as both sides traded touches without creating much.
Substitutions multiplied in the second half. Miguel Crespo da Silva and Mohammed Al-Khabrani went off together at 67 minutes, while Essam Hassan Abdullah Bahri and Nawaf Al-Sadi were brought on. The eighth change came at 82 minutes, and a flurry of four more substitutions followed at 85 minutes. The game had settled into a pattern neither team could break.
Al-Khaleej held 63 per cent possession and registered 111 attacks, yet their expected goals stood at just 0.5. They took seven shots outside the penalty area and three inside, managing only one on target. Al-Riyadh, with 37 per cent possession, created less — their expected goals figure was 0.36. Both keepers made a single save each, and the shots accuracy figures for both sides sat at 10 per cent.
The result leaves Al-Khaleej in 16th place with five games played, three draws and two defeats for three points. Al-Riyadh sit 12th after one win, one draw and three defeats, earning four points. The visitors had lost 0-5 to Al-Ahli Saudi Arabia on their previous outing, and this draw offered a slight reprieve. The hosts, meanwhile, were coming off a 0-3 defeat to Al-Sukour and a 1-5 loss to Al-Hilal.
