Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq lose 2-0 against Al-Hilal

Steven Gerrard suffers his first Saudi Pro League defeat as Al-Ettifaq lose 2-0 against Al-Hilal with Jordan Henderson failing to inspire visitors to comeback win against strong home side

• Al-Hilal secured a dominant victory over Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq on Monday
• Gerrard’s side are now winless in their last two games after losing 2-0
• Would Mohamed Salah ‘do the dirty’ on Liverpool by leaving? And what about Man United ‘diving’?: Listen to It’s All Kicking Off , Mail Sport’s new podcast

Steven Gerrard lost his first match in charge of Al-Ettifaq after being beaten 2-0 by a strong Al-Hilal side in Riyadh.

The visitors, captained by Jordan Henderson, were unable to fight their way back into proceedings after first-half goals from Malcom and Salem Aldawsari.

Victory moves Al-Hilal to within two points of Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Ittihad, while Al-Ettifaq remain fifth with just seven points from four matches.

Gerrard is now winless in his last two matches in charge of one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest clubs amidst a difficult start to managerial life in the Middle East. 

The hosts handed a first home start to former Fulham striker Aleksandr Mitrovic after he scored on his debut with a trademark following his £50m move, however are still waiting to give Neymar his first outing while the Brazilian recovers from injury.

Brazilian forward Malcom opened the scoring for Al-Hilal with an impressive first-half strike

Steven Gerrard is now winless in his last two matches as Al-Ettifaq manager after suffering his first defeat on Monday

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Meanwhile, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was suspended after being sent off in their 4-0 away win over Al-Raed, but were further strengthened by ex-Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly and former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves.

Henderson led out Al-Ettifaq in his first away clash after recovering from a short-term illness but struggled early on as Al-Hilal struck twice in the first-half.

Brazilian striker Malcom fired the hosts ahead in the 24th minute after being played through by Mitrovic following some neat build-up play.

A strong Al-Hilal side boasting former Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves (left) dominated proceedings

The 26-year-old latched onto a throughball and finished with a powerful strike across the face of goal into the bottom corner.

Matters were made worse for Gerrard’s team when Aldawsari doubled the hosts’ lead just four minutes before half-time with a brilliant strike.

A bouncing ball ricocheted around the penalty box before falling to the 32-year-old who rifled a scissor-kick finish past goalkeeper 

The visitors attempted to respond with late substitutions but lacked potency in the final third as goalkeeper Paulo Victor was left scrambling.

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