Al Hilal’s $210m Premier League trio all score to reclaim Saudi Pro League top spot

Show caption: Ollie Watkins after scoring against Al Ittihad. Getty Images

Al Hilal's three-man former Premier League strikeforce all scored as they beat Al Ittihad 3-2 on Saturday to reclaim top spot in the table.

The Riyadh giants spent big to reshape their forward line over the summer, bringing in Ollie Watkins ($60m from Aston Villa), Gabriel Martinelli ($70m from Arsenal) and Crysencio Summerville ($80 million from West Ham) from the English top-flight.

All three came good at Kingdom Arena as Al Ittihad were well beaten despite a strong effort and the close scoreline.

Former Gunners winger Martinelli opened the scoring on 11 minutes before Al Ittihad striker Youssef En-Nesyri pulled his side level.

But parity didn't last long as England striker Watkins struck on 30 minutes to make it 2-1. Summerville then stretched the lead to 3-1 just after the hour mark. Steven Bergwijn scored a penalty in the dying stages to reduce the arrears and complete the scoring.

Watkins was pleased with the three points, but felt he should have had another goal, with him having one chalked off for a questionable handball.

He said: “It was a high-level match, especially as we had just returned from the international break. 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 am very happy.

“Honestly, I scored another goal, but unfortunately it was disallowed,” he added. “I know it was a difficult decision, and I will not comment on it, but I felt it was a valid goal.”

Al Hilal are now two points clear at the top of the table ahead of Al Qadsiah and Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr, who beat Diriyah 3-0 on Friday night.