Al-Wehda 0-3 Al-Ittihad: Nuno Espirito Santo’s side overcome injury to captain Karim Benzema to maintain place at the top of the Saudi Pro League

Al-Ittihad held on to their place at the top of the Saudi Pro League after beating Al-Wehda 3-0 on Monday night, despite losing captain Karim Benzema to injury.

Second-half strikes from Romarinho, Jota and Igor Coronado sealed the win for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side. 

Al-Ittihad have been heavily linked with a big-money move for Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in recent days, and their difficulty in breaking down Al-Wehda in the first half of this game possibly showed why. 

The Saudi side have reportedly offered Salah more than the £175million-per-year that Cristiano Ronaldo is earning at league rivals Al-Nassr. 

Reports in Spain have suggested that the Egyptian superstar is keen to make the move, but Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp dismissed the speculation ahead of his side’s 2-1 win at Newcastle United on Sunday. 

Al-Ittihad have added Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Fabinho to their squad this summer, but were level at the interval against Al-Wehda despite them all starting. 

Former Real Madrid favourite Benzema was forced off before half-time, receiving strapping to his thigh as he sat in the Al-Ittihad dugout. 

The French striker netted four goals in his first seven appearances for the reigning league champions but could now be set for a spell on the sidelines. 

N’Golo Kante set up Al-Ittihad’s opening goal in their 3-0 win against Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League on Monday night

Nuno’s side did find the breakthrough after the break, with Kante setting up Romarinho to open the scoring just beyond the hour mark.

The league leaders extended their advantage just minutes later when substitute Jota, who was rumoured to be leaving Saudi Arabia last week despite only recently signing from Celtic, found the net. 

They scored again in the 73rd minute, with Romarinho turning provider to set up fellow Brazilian Coronado to score. 

Al-Ittihad are back in action on Friday when they host Al-Hilal, who boast Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ruben Neves and Neymar among their playing squad, and currently sit second in the league table.