El Berkaoui scores, Hegazi and Fouzair sent off as Al Raed hold Al Ittihad

Karim El Berkaoui continued with his impressive goalscoring run in Saudi Arabia’s top-flight, while the duo of Ahmed Hegazi and Mohamed Fouzair were given their marching orders as Al Raed played a 1-1 draw with Al Ittihad on Saturday evening.

With Raed Al Tahadi looking destined for defeat, the former Morocco U23 star ensured honour was shared at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium, thanks to his fine strike.

Boasting victories in their last three encounters, the Tigers travelled to Buraidah with the ambition of claiming maximum points – which would boost their title ambitions. However, that dream suffered a massive setback as Egyptian star Hegazi was sent off for dangerous play in the 37th minute.

The West Bromwich Albion loanee was shown a straight red card by referee Khaled Al Teris for forcefully bringing down a goal-bound Abdullah Al-Mogren.

Even at the numerical disadvantage, Fabio Carille’s men looked unruffled as they launched pouring attacks on their hosts. On the stroke of half time, they were awarded a penalty kick, albeit, Romarinho failed to beat Algerian goalkeeper Azzedine Doukha.

In the second half, Al Raed stepped up their game, nonetheless, it was the visitors who took a 64th-minute lead through Romarinho thanks to an assist from Fahad Al-Muwallad.

That lead lasted for just five minutes as El Berkaoui - who replaced Khalid Al-Khathlan a minute earlier levelled matters for Besnik Hasi’s team. The Moroccan midfielder rifled the ball past goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe after Ronnie Fernandez chested the ball to his path.

The 25-year-old now boasts 11 goals in 19 Pro League outings in the 2020-21 campaign.

Buoyed by the equaliser, Al Raed pushed further for the winner, but that ambition faded into thin air as they were reduced to 10 men after Fouzair was sent off for a second caution in the 86th minute.

At the end of the final whistle, both sides walked home with a point each as the tie ended on a no winner, no vanquished note.

Moroccan midfielder Karim El Ahmadi was in action from start to finish for the Tigers, while Cape Verde’s Garry Rodrigues replaced Abdulaziz Al Bishi in the 90th minute. Following his dismissal, Hegazi will miss his team’s next outing against league leaders Al-Hilal.