Al-Ittihad came from behind to beat Al-Khazem 3-2 at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium on Sunday evening. The Pro-League Regular Season - 3 fixture ended with the home side taking all three points after a game that swung back and forth. Bergwijn took the headlines with his hat-trick, though two of his goals came from the spot.
Al-Khazem struck first through A. Al Dwehe in the eighteenth minute, catching the hosts off guard. Bergwijn responded quickly, netting in the thirty-fourth minute before adding a penalty in the forty-first to give Al-Ittihad the lead. By then the visitors had already collected two yellow cards, though the game remained finely balanced.
The second half saw S. Bendebka pull one back for Al-Khazem in the fifty-ninth minute, bringing the visitors level again. Bergwijn was not done, converting another penalty in the eighty-first minute to restore his side's advantage. The home side played the closing stages with their backs against the wall, but held their nerve.
Substitutions came thick and fast as both managers tried to see out the game. Al-Ittihad brought on Y. En Nesyri, J. Simic and Bergwijn himself, while Al-Khazem shuffled their defence with changes for A. Al Dwehe, A. Bah and M. Ben Hamida. Yellow cards continued to fly, with seven booked across the ninety minutes.
The statistics tell a story of dominance without the clean sheet. Al-Ittihad enjoyed 54 per cent possession and created seven big chances, yet their expected goals of 3.9 did not fully reflect the outcome. Al-Khazem managed only two shots on target from their three big chances, and their 0.79 expected goals told the tale of a side that struggled to test the goalkeeper.
The result keeps Al-Ittihad in fifth place with eight points from four games, while Al-Khazem remain tenth on four points. The hosts have not lost yet, but this was a reminder that even a commanding performance can feel fragile until the final whistle. Three or four moments decided the game, the rest was just noise.