Al-Ettifaq have defeated Al-Tai 4-3 in the Saudi Pro League’s seventh round on Thursday to extend their winning run to three games.
The Dammam-based side picked up where they left off last week after claiming a 3-1 victory over Abha away from home.
Steven Gerrard’s side got off to a perfect start against A-Tai as summer-signing Georginio Wijnaldum opened his Al-Ettifaq scoring account with a stunning solo effort.
The Dutchman combined with Moussa Dembele and skipped past Al-Tai defenders before slotting home at the near post to give Al-Ettifaq the lead after just 76 seconds of play.
Their lead didn’t last for long, however, as Al-Tai grabbed the equalizer eight minutes later with a long ball in behind Al-Ettifaq’s backline that was finished off by Bernard Mensah.
Mensah got on the scoresheet once again in the 36th minute after exploiting the gaps left by Al-Ettifaq to net his second of the night and give the visitors the advantage.
The home side needed just four minutes to find the response as Jordan Henderson’s free-kick delivery inside the box found a thumping header from Dembele to net the leveller.
In the 54th minute, Al-Ettifaq’s defensive frailties came back to haunt them as Al-Tai scored their third and took the lead for the second time with Mensah completing a hat-trick in Dammam.
With the game entering its final 20 minutes, Wijnaldum stepped up again and pounced on a loose ball inside the box with a vicious strike to bring his side back on level terms.
Gerrard’s men completed their comeback in stoppage time as former Everton winger Demarai Gray found a lurking Dembele with a low cross and the latter tapped home for a sensational 93rd-minute winner.