The 2018 Saudi Super Cup was the fifth edition of the Saudi Super Cup, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Saudi Pro League and King Cup.
The match was played on 18 August 2018 between Al-Hilal, the winners of the 2017–18 Saudi Pro League, and Al-Ittihad, the winners of the 2018 King Cup.
It was held at Loftus Road in London, England, marking the second time the stadium hosted the Saudi Super Cup, and the third consecutive edition of the competition to be played in England.
Al-Hilal won the match 2–1, securing their second Saudi Super Cup title.
Venue
Loftus Road was announced as the venue of the final on 27 July 2018. This was the second time Loftus Road hosted the final and was the third time it was hosted in London.
Loftus Road was built in 1904 and has been used as the home stadium of Queens Park Rangers since 1917. Its current capacity is 18,439, and the record attendance was 35,353 in 1974.
Background
This was Al-Hilal's third appearance in the competition. Al-Hilal won the 2015 edition and finished as runners-up in 2016. This was Al-Ittihad's second appearance in the competition. They finished as runners-up in the 2013 after losing to Al-Fateh.
The 2017 edition, which was supposed to be contested between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad, was canceled. The decision came at the request of then-Saudi national team manager Edgardo Bauza, who sought to adjust the domestic calendar to set up an ideal preparation program for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Al-Hilal qualified by winning the 2017–18 Saudi Pro League on the final matchday with a 4–1 victory over Al-Fateh. Al-Ittihad qualified by winning their ninth King Cup title, defeating Al-Faisaly 3–1 in the final.
This was the 141st meeting between the two sides in all competitions. Al-Hilal had won 56 times, while Al-Ittihad had won 42 times, with 42 draws between them. It was also the tenth final between them, with Al-Ittihad winning five times and Al-Hilal winning four times.
Match Details <onlyinclude>
GK 26 Ali Al-HabsiRB 2 Mohammed Al-Breik CB 4 Alberto Botía CB 5 Ali Al-Bulaihi LB 12 Yasser Al-ShahraniRM 19 André Carrillo CM 28 Mohamed KannoLM 29 Salem Al-DawsariAM 3 Carlos Eduardo (c) AM 21 Omar Abdulrahman CF 11 Gelmin Rivas Substitutes:GK 1 Abdullah Al-MayoufDF 13 Hassan Kadesh DF 22 Mohammed Al-BaqawiDF 70 Mohammed JahfaliMF 10 Mohammad Al-Shalhoub MF 15 Ahmed AshrafMF 18 Nasser Al-Dawsari MF 27 Achraf Bencharki FW 77 Omar Kharbin Manager: Jorge Jesus GK 12 Assaf Al-QarniRB 11 Hassan FallatahCB 5 Matthew JurmanCB 13 Ahmed Assiri (c) LB 36 Thiago Carleto DM 20 Karim El Ahmadi DM 27 Jonas AM 29 Valdívia AM 10 Carlos VillanuevaSS 8 Fahad Al-MuwalladCF 9 Romarinho Substitutes:GK 1 Rakan Al-NajjarDF 24 Ammar Al-DaheemDF 31 Mansoor Al-Harbi DF 32 Omar Al-Muziel MF 6 Khaled Al-SumairiMF 15 Jamal BajandouhMF 25 Ali Al-Zaqaan FW 45 Aleksandar Pešić FW 49 Abdulrahman Al-Ghamdi Manager: Ramón Díaz
Assistant referees: Bahattin Duran (Turkey)Tarik Ongun (Turkey) Fourth official: Mohammed Al-Smail Video assistant referee: Mark Clattenburg (England) Assistant video assistant referees: Khaled Al-Teris |}Match rules 90 minutes. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Nine named substitutes, of which up to three may be used.
Statistics +OverallStatistic Al-Hilal Al-IttihadGoals scored21Total shots1913Shots on target74Saves35Ball possession47%53%Corner kicks91Fouls committed2016Offsides04Yellow cards23Red cards00
See also 2017–18 Saudi Professional League 2018 King Cup
References