Just one week into the 2011-12 campaign, Roshn Saudi League fans were in for a key clash that would have an important impact on the fate of the title that year as Al Hilal welcomed Al Shabab to the King Fahd Sports City in matchweek 2.
Both sides had started the season with wins; Al Shabab beating Al Faisaly 3-1 and Al Hilal edging out Hajer 2-1, so their match-up was an opportunity to take an early lead in the title race.
Al Hilal started on the front foot, with Mohammed Al Shalhoub and Youssef El Arabi missing chances early on, but it was at the other end where the first goal of the night arrived midway through the opening period. Guinean winger Ibrahima Yattara sent in a cross from the left that was poked in by Nasser Al Shamrani for Al Shabab’s opener.
The Saudi international who would go on to finish as that campaign’s RSL top scorer with 21 goals doubled his tally in identical fashion to put the game to bed.
Al Hilal’s evening went from bad to worse with Achille Emana receiving his marching orders following a heavy challenge late on to leave his side with ten men.
Al Shabab would go on to win 17 of their next 24 matches and achieve the rare feat of winning the RSL title without a single defeat, while Al Hilal’s title defence fell at the final hurdle and they finished four points behind in third place.
Al Hilal went into the last matchday of the 2018-19 season knowing that a derby win over Al Shabab coupled with Al Nassr losing their simultaneous kick-off at home against Al Batin would give the blue side the title.
For Al Shabab, victory over their city rivals meant a fourth-place finish and a place in the AFC Champions League at the expense of Al Ahli.
Under interim coach Pericles Chamusca, Al Hilal wasted no time to take the lead inside seven minutes as Mohammed Al Burayk crossed for Bafetimbi Gomis who produced an exquisite overhead finish to open the scoring.
The second half started in exactly the same way as its predecessor with Al Burayk again providing the creative spark for a seventh-minute goal. This time around, the right-back cut inside to break into the area, returning Sebastian Giovinco’s pass for the Italian to slot home with his left for his side’s second.
There was time for the away side to pull one back as Romanian midfielder Constantin Budescu found Brazilian Seba who found the bottom corner with a drilled effort from 25 yards out to half the deficit.
The comeback was completed in the final minutes of the game thanks to current Al Nassr midfielder Abdulmajeed Al Sulaihem who finished off an attack started by Hassan Al Raheb and completed with a Seba cross for Al Sulaihem to drive home for the leveller.
Al Hilal revived their title hopes in added time as Gomis added his second goal of the night from the penalty spot to win it for the blue side of Riyadh. The win, however, proved too little too late as Al Nassr overcame Al Batin thanks to an Abderrazak Hamdallah brace to win the title.
The 2020-21 season saw one of the most epic RSL title battles between the two Riyadh rivals, and at the heart of it was their direct clash with four games left in the campaign.
By the time Al Hilal travelled to the north of the city, they sat top, three points ahead of Al Shabab, with Al Ittihad a further point behind in third, but by the time the final whistle went off, all doubts were cleared.
There was no messing about from Al Hilal as Giovinco’s cross found the head of Gomis at the far post to open the scoring within 120 seconds, but Al Shabab proved just as determined, restoring parity in the fourth minute thanks to current Al Khaleej captain Fabio Martins.
Just like in 2019, Gomis secured his personal double from the spot in the 24th minute, but the first-half drama was far from over.
Al Shabab captain Ever Banega was sent-off before the break for a couple of late challenges and Al Hilal took full advantage as Luciano Vietto snatched the ball deep inside the opposition half and applied a delicious, dinked finish past the goalkeeper for 3-1.
After the restart, Al Shabab’s defences had collapsed allowing Andre Carrillo to setup youngster Nasser Al Dawsari for the fourth before Mohammed Kanno completed the rout with his side’s fifth.
Al Hilal dropped points the very next matchweek, drawing 1-1 at home against Al Batin, but to their luck, Al Shabab fell to a 4-3 defeat at Al Ettifaq, practically surrendering the title to Al Hilal who went on to end the campaign four points clear to lift the trophy.
The 2022-23 season was not the best for both Riyadh clubs as they finished third and fourth behind eventual champions Al Ittihad and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
At Prince Faisal bin Fahd Sports City, Al Shabab ran riot, leaving their opponents chasing shadows as they emerged 3-0 victorious.
After a goalless first half, Hussein Al Qahtani, currently of Al Qadsiah, got Al Shabab up and running. The attacking midfielder controlled Fawaz Al Saqour’s cross and drilled into the bottom corner past Abdullah Al Mayouf.
The lead was doubled in style in the 68th minute as Banega intelligently supplied a low ball for Cristian Guanca to place it expertly into the corner for 2-0.
In his last derby appearance before swapping Al Hilal for Al Shabab, Colombian midfield enforcer Gustavo Cuellar was sent-off following an altercation with Aaroun Boupendza.
Al Hilal’s miserable night continued with the win sealed thanks to one of their own. Hattan Bahebri struck home the third against his former team to seal a famous derby victory for Al Shabab.
The most recent in a long series of thrilling derbies was a seven-goal bonanza at the new Al Shabab Stadium last season.
As fate would have it, it was none other than Musab Al Juwayr, on loan from Al Hilal to Al Shabab, who opened the scoring against his parent club with a well-taken strike from distance after just three minutes.
Al Hilal drew level in the 20th minute after Aleksandar Mitrovic was brought down inside the box and stepped up to convert home from the penalty spot. He then added his second seven minutes later with the simplest of tap-ins from point-blank after being set-up by his compatriot Sergej Milinkovic-Savic who himself finished off Ruben Neves’ delivery for the third before the break.
The margin was deepened thanks to club captain Salem Al Dawsari who swept home Michael’s cross from the right flank just before the hour-mark.
A late Al Shabab rally saw left-back Hussein Al Sibyani score an exceptional solo goal before Moroccan centre-back Romain Saiss bagged the pick of the goals with a curled free-kick that left his compatriot Yassine Bono helpless to recue in goal.
The final whistle would come just too soon for Al Shabab who showed once more that they are a worthy rival, even with the points beyond their reach on that occasion against an Al Hilal side that went on to win the title unbeaten.
