Defense Dominates: Al Hilal and Al Ahli Share the Spoils in Goalless Saudi Clasico

Match Snapshot

The summit clash between Al Hilal and Al Ahli ended in a goalless draw on Monday night, in matchweek 20 of the Saudi Pro League, a contest that featured intense duels and tactical control from both sides.

With the draw, Hilal's points rose to 47 at the top of the standings, narrowing the gap to one point with leaders Al Nassr (46), who beat Riyadh 1-0 in the same round.

Al Ahli climbed to 44 points in third place, leaving a 3-point gap to the league leaders.

Meanwhile, Al Ahli extended its run of clean sheets to three successive league matches, continuing a strong defensive spell this season. The current streak is just short of the club's longest run without conceding in the league, which stood at six games from late November 2023 to late December 2023.

In the other camp, Hilal kept a clean sheet in seven of 19 matches this campaign, while Al Ahli tops the charts for clean sheets with 11, ahead of all foes.

Standings and Streaks

Overall results show that Hilal have not won in their last three league games, yet they remain the most consistent side this season, remaining unbeaten in 27 matches. That is a shorter run than their 46-game streak from May 2023 to November 2024.

Meanwhile, Al Ahli's unbeaten run stretched to nine games, their best stretch since a 10-match run earlier this season, underscoring the tight title race and the rising drama in the closing rounds of the Saudi Pro League.

Punchline 1: If defense were perfume, this match would be Eau de Offside.

Punchline 2: They played 90 minutes and the only thing on target was the referee's whistle—the scoreboard kept its dignity intact.