Ittihad’s Spanish pre-season gathers pace as Diaby and Fernandes sink Las Palmas

Ittihad made it two wins from two on their Spanish pre-season tour with a 2-1 victory over Las Palmas in Marbella, thanks to first-half strikes from Moussa Diaby and Roger Fernandes.

The Saudi Pro League side, preparing for the 2026-27 campaign, built a decisive lead through goals from their French and Portuguese wingers before the La Liga club pulled one back late on in a fiery friendly that saw both teams reduced to 10 men.

Diaby opened the scoring on 15 minutes, bursting down the right flank before racing clear of the Las Palmas defence and finishing past the goalkeeper in a one-on-one.

Soon after Las Palmas were forced to play with a man fewer. One of their players was sent off in the 23rd minute for an off-the-ball incident, after the referee judged that he had assaulted Ittihad’s Muath Faqihi away from the play.

Fernandes doubles the lead

Ittihad struck again early in the second half as Roger Fernandes extended their advantage with a goal that closely mirrored Diaby’s opener.

Five minutes after the restart, the Portuguese winger drove in from the right wing and, having created space for himself, slotted the ball into the net to make it 2-0 to the Jeddah club.

Las Palmas’ response came deep into the closing stages. In the 77th minute, a powerful shot from outside the penalty area took a decisive deflection off Ittihad defender Mohammed Barnawi, wrong-footing substitute goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Absi and halving the deficit.

Ittihad also finished the game with 10 men after Farhah Al-Shamrani was dismissed in the final minutes, adding to the competitive edge of what was officially a pre-season warm-up.

Weissenberg rotates his squad

Head coach Jens Wissing, appointed to lead Ittihad into the new season, started the match with a line-up largely composed of his first-choice players as he continued to refine his core team during the Marbella camp.

The German coach then introduced a series of substitutes after half-time, giving playing time to a wide group of squad members as part of his preparations for a campaign that will include domestic and continental commitments.

The win over Las Palmas follows Ittihad’s 3-2 success against South African side Orlando Pirates in their opening friendly of the camp on Tuesday, leaving the team with a perfect record so far in Spain.

Final Marbella test before Asia

Ittihad, nicknamed both “the Tigers” and “Al-Ameed”, will conclude their Marbella schedule on 30 July when they face Real Mallorca in their final friendly before returning to Jeddah.

Their first competitive fixture of the 2026-27 season is scheduled for 11 August, when they take on Al Jazira of the United Arab Emirates in the play-off round for qualification to the AFC Champions League Elite.

That match will determine whether Ittihad secure a place in the group phase of the revamped continental competition, adding extra significance to their current preparations on Spain’s south coast.