Sealed with a Kiss: Al Hilal's Premier League trio clinch Clasico thriller

This was a firm endorsement of Al Hilal's standout summer spend.

It was a night when all three of the club's big-name recent recruits delivered, Gabriel Martinelli, Ollie Watkins and Crysencio Summerville shining and then settling the season's first Saudi Clasico.

Each arrived at Al Hilal from the English Premier League during the off-season. And, on Saturday evening, in one of the marquee matches on the Saudi football calendar, each delivered when it mattered most.

The trio were on target as the Riyadh giants edged a thrilling Saudi Clasico 3-2 against Al Ittihad at Kingdom Arena, sending Simone Inzaghi's side back top of the Roshn Saudi League.

It was quite the statement from Al Hilal's revamped attack, with their high-profile summer acquisitions combining to inflict a first defeat of the season on their title rivals.

In doing so, it opened a two-point lead at the summit.

And while all three found the net, Watkins was particularly influential, contributing to each of Al Hilal's goals to continue his impressive start to life in Saudi Arabia.

The England international, who arrived from Aston Villa in August, now has five goals and four assists from his opening five RSL appearances. It was Watkins' work that helped break the deadlock in the 11th minute.

After Al Hilal won possession high up the pitch, Ruben Neves and Saimon Bouabre combined to release Watkins, who drove to the byline before cutting the ball back for former Arsenal winger Martinelli to finish.

Like Watkins, the Brazilian has settled superbly at Al Hilal: this marked his fourth goal in his past two matches.

Al Ittihad, though, were quick to respond.

On 22 minutes, Marwan Al Sahafi released Youssef En Nesyri behind the Al Hilal defence, with the Moroccan finishing powerfully past compatriot Yassine Bono to restore parity.

However, Al Hilal were back in front only eight minutes later. This time, Watkins was the goalscorer.

Neves delivered a dangerous ball into the area, Al Ittihad captain Danilo Pereira failed to control with his chest, and Watkins pounced to poke home.

The in-form frontman then thought he'd doubled his tally in first-half stoppage time, only for his effort to be ruled out following a VAR review for handball.

Still, Watkins would have another decisive say.

With Al Ittihad pushing for an equaliser after the break, the Al Hilal striker dropped deep just after the hour to collect possession before releasing Summerville into space.

The Netherlands winger, brought in July from West Ham United, drove towards goal, shifted the ball past Muhannad Al Shanqeeti and curled a fine finish beyond Predrag Rajkovic.

Three goals. Three Premier League imports. And what looked to be three points secured.

Al Ittihad, though, were not finished.

With the clock ticking towards conclusion, the visitors were awarded a penalty following a VAR review after Neves fouled Jan-Carlo Simic inside the area.

Steven Bergwijn, himself enjoying a fine 2026-27 RSL, converted from the spot to set up a tense finale. But Al Hilal held firm through injury-time to secure a victory that lifted them to 21 points, two clear of Al Qadsiah and defending champions Al Nassr.

For Watkins, the result was especially satisfying given the significance of the occasion.

"It was a high-level match, especially as we had just returned from the international break," he said. "We trained for many days, but nothing compares to playing a match at full strength.

"It was a top-of-the-table clash, and you can see how important it was to everyone. There is a lot of noise and celebrations, but the most important thing is that we took the three points, and I'm very happy."

For Al Ittihad, a first loss of the campaign leaves them fourth on 17 points, four behind their Clasico rivals.

For Al Hilal, meanwhile, it was a night that demonstrated just why they invested so heavily in their attacking options during the summer.

And with Martinelli, Watkins and Summerville all delivering on one of the RSL's grandest stages, their new-look frontline is already proving a potent proposition.