"Al-Ittihad got their title defence off to a flying start in the Saudi Pro League as they routed Al-Okhdood 5-2 with Karim Benzema scoring a perfect hat-trick. Benzema's treble, as well as a strike from Steven Bergwijn and an own goal from Saeed Al-Rubaie, secured Al-Ittihad the three points in emphatic fashion. Benzema, who found the net on 21 occasions last term, scored his first inside four minutes, with Bergwijn adding a second three minutes later, after his free-kick took a fortuitous deflection."
"While Al-Okhdood halved the deficit through Juan Sebastian Pedroza in the 27th minute, their hard work was undone two minutes later, as Al-Rubaie turned the ball into his own net when attempting to deny Mohamed Nayef. Benzema put the game out of sight six minutes after the restart with a sumptuous header, and while the hosts retorted with Pedroza getting his second, the Real Madrid icon wrapped up his hat-trick, slamming the ball past Samuel Portugal in the Al-Okhdood net."
Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Okhdood 5-2 in the Saudi Pro League with Karim Benzema scoring a perfect hat-trick. Steven Bergwijn added a goal and Saeed Al-Rubaie's own goal contributed to the champions' margin. Benzema opened the scoring inside four minutes and Bergwijn followed three minutes later after a deflected free-kick. Juan Sebastian Pedroza scored twice for Al-Okhdood, with the visitors' second goal coming from an unfortunate Al-Rubaie own goal. Benzema extended the lead with a header six minutes after the restart and completed his treble late on. Al-Okhdood finished with 10 men after Naif Asiri's second yellow. The win leaves Al-Ittihad level with Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr.
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