Ittihad and Al-Hilal opened the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup of Champions with a 2-2 draw at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium here Sunday. Although Ittihad looked like the better side, Hilal stunned the Jeddah team with an early goal through Ahmad Al-Faredi in the 7th minute. The absence of Ittihad defender Reda Tukar was very much evident. Ittihad came back into the game through Egyptian star Hosni Abdurabbu's 24th minute free kick. Abdurabbu then put Ittihad into the lead in the 55th with a fine header. Salem Al-Dossary, however, made the most of poor Ittihad defense to tie the game for Hilal in the 83rd minute. Monday's action will see defending champion Al-Ahli host Al-Faisaly at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah. Ahli emerged champion in 2011 after defeating the Jeddah rival Ittihad 4-2 in a penalty shootout. The other match of the day will see Shabab take on Nasr at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Shabab is a two-time winner of this competition after winning the title in 2008 and 2009. The unbeaten league champion Shabab equalized Hilal's record this year by achieving record 64 points in the Saudi League. __
