Hilal topped the standings after thrashing its guest Al-Faisali 5-1 in the conclusion of round three of the Saudi Zain Professional League at Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium Wednesday. Title holder Hilal dominated throughout the match. However, the blue team could not score during the first half, neither could the guest team. In the second half, substitute Yasser Al-Qahtani succeeded to score three times along with Romanian midfielder Meriel Radoi and Swedish midfielder Cristian Wilhelmsson. In the 57th Radoi kicked from outside the area into the right corner of the goalkeeper. Two minutes later, Al-Qahtani entered the box from the left to kick the ball at the same corner. Two minutes later, Wilhelmsson pounced on an easy ball inside the area and with no hesitation, he kicked it into the goal. In the 65th minute, Syrian midfielder of Faisali Wa'el Ayan scored when he faced Al-Hilal goalkeeper Hasan Al-Otaibi. Ayan lobbed the ball over Otaibi to reduce the margin. In the 82nd minute, Qahtani received a pass inside the area to put the ball at the right corner. Two minutes later, Qahtani repeated the same scenario but the pass this time came from outside the box. In another match, Al-Ittihad defeated its guest Najran 2-0 at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium. Algerian striker Abdul-Malik Ziaya scored for Ittihad in the 36th minute before Naif Hazzazi sealed the host team's win. Ittihad is now second with nine points and two-goal difference behind Hilal. At King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, Al-Ra'id continued its fine performance to defeat its guest Al-Wehdah 3-2. Mohsen Al-Qarni put Ra'id in the lead after 16 minutes but Mohanned Aseeri leveled the score nine minutes before the break off a spot kick. Aseeri put Wehdah in the lead. However, Moroccan striker of the host team, Jawad Akader, leveled the score in the 80th minute before his teammate Mousa Al-Shammari could give Ra'id the win in the 93rd minute. Ra'id is third in the standings with nine points with one-goal difference behind Ittihad.
