Al Nassr beat Al Riyadh 4-1 to stay second while defending champions Al Ittihad suffered another setback, going down 3-1 to Damac on Thursday.In a frenetic first half, Al Hilal took the lead in the 20th minute through Salem Al Dawsari.

The prolific Aleksandar Mitrovic scored his 14th league goal of the season from the penalty spot in the 30th minute to double Al Hilal’s lead.

Tariq Mohammed reduced the deficit in the fifth minute of first half added time time but Al Hilal held on to move to 44 points.Al Nassr, who suffered a 3-0 defeat to Al Hilal last week, took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo – playing the 1,200th match of his career – in the 31st minute.

Otavio doubled their advantage in first half stoppage time with Talisca adding their third in the 67th minute.

Andre Gray pulled one back for Al Riyadh a minute later but there was to be no comeback as Talisca scored Al Nassr’s fourth in added-on time. Al Ittihad, meanwhile, endured another tough outing on Thursday as they went down 3-1 to Damac, with the loss leaving the defending champions fifth in the standings, 16 points behind Al Hilal.

They face New Zealand’s Auckland City in the first round of the FIFA Club World Cup Saudi Arabia 2023 on Tuesday.

Al Taawoun defeated Al Fayha 4-1 to sit in third on 31 points, Al Hazm beat Al Fateh 2-0 while Al Shabab and Al Ettifaq drew 0-0.