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An Al-Ittihad fan attacked Karim Benzema's teammate Abderrazak Hamdallah with a whip following their loss in the Saudi Super Cup final in the UAE on April 11. It was a comprehensive 4-1 victory for Al-Hilal against Ittihad, who simply could not handle the Saudi Pro League leaders.
Malcom scored twice to guarantee his team's supremacy throughout the match. With help from Saleh Al-Shehri, Malcom scored the game's first goal barely five minutes into it, setting up an early lead. Al-Ittihad, however, answered right away as Abderrazak Hamdallah gave them an equalizer by scoring off the rebound after missing his penalty.
Salem Al-Dawsari's goal from outside of the box in the 44th minute gave Al-Hilal the lead back before halftime. They resumed the second half to finish off the game, as Malcom scored his second goal late on to extend their advantage.
Nasser Al-Dawsari then scored the game's final goal to complete the thrashing and secure the win deep in injury time. It was not an easy game for Karim Benzema and his teammates, as the former Real Madrid forward could do nothing to add to the scoresheet and turn the tide.
The 4-1 loss led to annoyance among Al-Ittihad fans and their reaction towards an approaching Hamdallah seemingly led to the forward squirting water towards them. A fight broke out as one of the supporters reacted to this by attacking Hamdallah with a whip.
Watch the clip here:
Officials stepped in right away to maintain order, as they separated the striker from the fan, who was whisked away.
Karim Benzema's brother Gressy speaks out after Al-Ittihad loss to Al-Hilal
Karim Benzema's side lost badly against Al-Hilal in the Saudi Arabia Super Cup final. After the game ended, Benzema's brother Gressy chastised Ittihad's coaching staff for their decisions to deploy the former Real Madrid striker away from his typical striker role.
The striker played off the offensive left wing and struggled to impact the game, which was a major cause of concern for Gressy Benzema. The unhappy brother took to Instagram stories afterward to slam the coaching staff (via Daily Sports):
“You play Karim on the left now? This is a crime! It makes no sense. Football needs to be respected."
Karim Benzema has made 28 appearances for Al-Ittihad this season, tallying 13 goals and dishing out 8 assists. While his overall output has been fairly impressive, he has only scored one goal in 2024.
His club Ittihad are presently ranked fourth in the Saudi Pro League, having struggled to meet expectations after signing players like N'Golo Kante last summer.
