Al-Ahli remain undefeated in the Saudi Pro League after overcoming Al-Tai 2-0 in the competition’s fourth round on Tuesday.
After Franck Kessie’s late winner over Al-Akhdoud last week, Al-Ahli looked to maintain their winning streak when they hosted Al-Tai.
Head coach Matthias Jaissle kept the same starting lineup from the previous round as new signing Gabriel Veiga’s debut waits for reported fitness issues after arriving in Saudi Arabia just days ago.
The hosts had a rampant start as ex-Leeds United left-back Ezgjan Alioski’s right-footed strike forced a good save from Al-Tai’s goalkeeper Victor Braga inside the opening five minutes.
The Jeddah giants continued to pile more pressure on Al-Tai in the first half but lacked the accuracy needed in their finishing.
The game took a huge turn after 35 minutes with Al-Tai being forced to play with ten men as their skipper Alfa Semedo was shown a straight red card for his challenge on Roger Ibanez.
It only needed four minutes for Al-Ahli to take advantage as Allan Saint-Maximin’s cutback found Riyad Mahrez in a central position before the Algerian fired the home side into the lead with a well-placed strike into the bottom corner.
Saint-Maximin almost opened his scoring account for Al-Ahli but his curled effort from close range went inches wide after 50 minutes.
Having netted the match-winner last week, Franck Kessie got on the scoresheet for the second week running to put Al-Ahli two goals ahead near the hour mark.
The Ivorian received the ball from Mahrez at the edge of the box and rifled a thunderous strike with his weaker left foot into the back of the net.
Despite Al-Ahli’s frontline missing a number of clear-cut chances late in the game, Jaissle’s men managed to keep a clean sheet and secure their fourth win of the campaign.