Odion Ighalo of the Super Eagles is on fire right now after scoring a hat-trick in the first half to help Al-Hilal smash Al-Ahli in the Saudi Professional League on Thursday night.
After scoring the game-winning goal to help Al-Hilal’s secure win over Al Ittihad last week Tuesday, the forward has gone all out to display Ghana should expect from him during the World Cup qualifiers playoff.
Thanks to goals from the 32-year-old in the first half, Al-Hilal won 4-2 to seal all three points over Al-Ahli.
Ighalo gave the home team the lead just 11 minutes into the contest. 23 minutes later, the attacker doubled his tally of the game, making it 3-0 with seconds left in the first half.
Al-Hilal went up 4-0 13 minutes into the second half when Moussa Marega netted a fantastic chip over the keeper to the top of the post.
In the second half, the visitors strengthened their fighting energy, and it paid off when Omar Al Somah struck from a spot kick in the 69th minute to give Al-Ahli a slim hope.
Ezgjan Alioski then scored the visitors’ second goal in extra time to make the score 4-2 but it wasn’t enough to keep his team from losing.
Six minutes before stoppage time, Saleh AlShehri came in to replace Odion Ighalo, who received praise from the home fans.
When they meet Al-Shabab in the King Cup of Champions semi-finals on April 3rd, Ramón Diaz’s team, who are presently in second position, will be seeking to continue their winning streak.
On the other hand, Al-Ahli will be weighing their loss after placing 10th with 28 points.