Carrasco hat-trick as Al-Shabab inflict historic 6-1 defeat on Al-Ahli

Al-Shabab condemned Al-Ahli to the heaviest defeat in the club’s Saudi Pro League history with a 6-1 victory in Riyadh on Friday.

The result came in a one-sided contest at SHG Arena, where Al-Ahli were reduced to 10 men in the 22nd minute and eventually conceded six times in the second round of the season between the two clubs.

Al-Shabab took the lead after only 66 seconds when Al-Ahli defender Ryan Hamid lost possession under pressure. Brazilian forward Ricardo Matias seized on the mistake before finishing to put the hosts ahead.

Al-Ahli’s problems deepened when goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi was shown a straight red card for handling the ball outside his penalty area as he attempted to stop Matias.

Al-Ahli manager Marino Pusic had not named Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy among his substitutes, leaving young goalkeeper Abdullah Abduh to come on. The replacement goalkeeper conceded almost immediately, with Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco sending the free-kick awarded for Al-Sanbi’s dismissal into the net in the 26th minute.

Matias continued to cause Al-Ahli problems and won a penalty in the 37th minute. Colombian striker Roger Martinez converted from the spot to give Al-Shabab a 3-0 advantage.

Al-Ahli did find a response before half-time. Feras Al-Buraikan turned a low cross into the net in the 40th minute to reduce the deficit, but the visitors remained under sustained pressure.

Pusic made several changes at the start of the second half, including bringing on defender Mohammed Suleiman Bakr to address the weakness in the centre of Al-Ahli’s defence. However, Bakr was involved in both of the penalties that followed.

Three minutes after the restart, Matias scored his second goal of the match and Al-Shabab’s fourth, heading a cross beyond Abdullah Abduh.

Carrasco then added his second from the penalty spot in the 66th minute after Bakr fouled Roger Martinez.

The Belgian completed his hat-trick eight minutes from time, scoring another penalty after Bakr brought down Carrasco himself. It was a landmark treble for Carrasco and completed Al-Shabab’s biggest win over their traditional rivals.

The defeat surpassed Al-Ahli’s previous record loss in the Saudi Pro League, a 6-2 defeat by Al-Ettifaq during the 2018-19 season. That result came on matchday six.

Al-Ahli remain on 21 points from seven wins and four defeats, leaving them sixth in the Saudi Pro League table. Al-Shabab moved up to 14 points and occupy 10th place.