Al-Ettifaq beat NEOM 1-0 with a goal from Abdullah Khateeb in round 9 of the Saudi League

Al-Ettifaq secured a valuable win over hosts NEOM by a score of 1-0 in the match between the two sides in round 9 of the Saudi Pro League, held on 17 October 2026 and kicking off at 18:40 Damascus time.

The match's only goal came in the 82nd minute through player Abdullah Khateeb, giving his side Al-Ettifaq a full three points away from home.

Abdullah Khateeb received the man of the match award after scoring the decisive goal while playing for only 44 minutes, achieving a rating of 8.48 points.

In terms of statistics, NEOM dominated possession with 58 percent against 42 percent for Al-Ettifaq, while NEOM had 11 shots compared to just 4 for their visitors, with NEOM's shots on target at 4 against one for Al-Ettifaq. NEOM's expected goals (xg) stood at 0.72 compared to 0.14 for Al-Ettifaq. The match saw no red cards, while NEOM received one yellow card compared to two for Al-Ettifaq.

With this result, NEOM's tally remained at 16 points in fifth place after playing 8 matches, winning 5, drawing 1 and losing 2, with a goal difference of 14 scored and 7 conceded. Meanwhile, Al-Ettifaq raised their tally to 12 points in seventh place after 8 matches, winning 3, drawing 3 and losing 2, scoring 12 goals and conceding 12 goals.