Portuguese player João Cancelo, the Barcelona full-back, put his former Al-Hilal manager, Italian Simone Inzaghi, in an awkward position.
Cancelo led Barcelona to a 2-1 victory over Atlético Madrid in Saturday’s match at the Riyadh Metropole Stadium, in the 30th round of La Liga.
The Portuguese full-back played a starring role in the winning goal scored by Polish striker Robert Lewandowski in the 87th minute of the match.
Cancelo produced a moment of brilliance with a mesmerising dribble down the left, before firing a powerful shot that was parried by Atlético Madrid goalkeeper Juan Musso, only for the ball to rebound off the Polish striker’s chest and into the net.
This victory brought Barcelona closer to clinching the La Liga title, as they took their tally to 76 points, putting them at the top of the table, seven points clear of their traditional rivals Real Madrid, with eight matches remaining in the season.
This came about an hour after Al-Hilal were held to a 2-2 draw by Al-Taawoun on Saturday at the Kingdom Arena, in the 27th round of the Roshen League.
The draw has complicated Al-Hilal’s chances of winning the Saudi Pro League title, as they sit second in the table on 65 points, five points behind leaders Al-Nassr, with seven matches remaining.
Al-Hilal have struggled at right-back since Cancelo’s departure to Barcelona on loan during the last winter transfer window, particularly following an injury to full-back Hamad Al-Yami.
Inzaghi was forced to rely on left-back Mutaib Al-Harbi in that position, before bringing on young winger Abdulkarim Darci as a right-back in the closing minutes of the Al-Taawoun match, though neither provided the desired attacking threat.
Read also... A crazy scenario that gives Al-Nassr the Saudi League title ahead of Al-Hilal