A 96th-minute strike by Ivory Coast’s Franck Kessie was enough for Al-Ahli to secure a narrow 1-0 victory over Al-Akhdoud.
Al-Ahli were handed a major boost ahead of the encounter as Roberto Firmino returned from injury to retain his place in the starting lineup.
Head coach Matthias Jaissle started with the same 4-2-3-1 formation as former Manchester City man Riyad Mahrez and ex-Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin led their attack.
New summer signing Merih Demiral also made his debut for Al-Hilal and partnered with former AS Roma centre-back Roger Ibanez.
Al-Ahli’s first real chance of the game in the 18th minute when Roberto Firmino’s powerful header forced a great save by Al-Akhdoud goalkeeper Paulo Vítor.
The hosts squandered another opportunity seven minutes later as Riyad Mahrez found former Leeds United left-back Ezgjan Alioski with a sublime through ball but the Macedonian’s effort was tame and travelled safely to Vitor’s hands.
With seconds remaining to the half-time whistle, Al-Ahli’s Sumayhan Al-Nabit was found in a pocket of space on the left-hand side, but the Saudi midfielder’s shot was wide and off-target.
The second half proved to be no different as Al-Ahli struggled to create chances against a resolute Al-Akhdoud side that looked determined to leave Jeddah with a point.
However, there was late drama as Al-Ahli thought they scored in stoppage time through Roberto Firmino as Franck Kessie’s touch found the Brazilian before his goal was ruled out for offside.
Despite their frustration, they finally found the breakthrough six minutes later when a driven cross by Mahrez took a deflection before meeting a bullet header from Kessie to claim a late win at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium.