Al-Ahli 1-1 Al-Riyadh: Toze snatches late point in dramatic draw
What looked set to be a goalless stalemate came to life late on, with two penalties and a red card shared between Al-Ahli and Al-Riyadh.
Toze snatched a late 1-1 draw for Al-Riyadh against Al-Ahli, with two late penalties telling the tale in the Saudi Pro League.
The hosts looked set to snatch a dramatic victory and go third in the table, but a late defensive lapse meant they lost some ground on leaders Al-Nassr.
Al-Ahli dominated the first half without creating any real chances of note, and continued to up the pressure after the break, with Feras Al Brikan forcing Borjan into a reflex save with his far-post header before Ibanez hit the underside of the bar with a close-range volley.
Al-Ahli got their breakthrough in the 91st minute, after Marzouq Tambakti was penalised for a handball in the box – the cross glanced off his fingers as he slid in to make a block, with a long VAR check following the decision.
Toney confidently dispatched his spot-kick straight down the centre of the goal, but the drama was far from over, with Al-Riyadh getting their own penalty five minutes into 12 minutes of stoppage time.
Abduelelah Al Khaibari went through the back of Mamadou Sylla, and after another long VAR review, Toze stepped up from 12 yards, slotting his low strike into the bottom-left corner in the 101st minute.
Shortly after, Ziyad Al Johani received his marching orders for a last-man foul on Sylla, but Al-Riyadh were unable to use their advantage, with Al-Ahli seeing two more penalty claims cleared in the time remaining.
Data Debrief: Al-Ahli watch chances go begging
Al-Ahli will be left wondering how they failed to walk away from Thursday's match with all three points after their total dominance.
They had 19 shots worth 2.17 expected goals (xG), and hit the woodwork, while Al-Riyadh mustered just 1.05 xG from their six shots, having failed to have a single attempt in the first half.
Worryingly for Al-Ahli, who are five points behind Al-Nassr, who are playing later this weekend, they are winless in their last four home matches played in October (D3 L1), the first time that has happened since 2008-09.
