Karim Benzema's first-half hat-trick helped Al-Hilal go within two points of the Saudi Pro League summit after they thumped Al-Kholood 6-0 at Kingdom Arena. 

Benzema's treble, and a strike from Moteb Al-Harbi, put the result beyond doubt before the break, then Salem Al-Dawsari and Marcos Leonardo made sure of the win in the second half.

Al-Harbi opened the scoring for Al-Hilal in the seventh minute, when he arrowed his shot into the bottom-left corner after collecting Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's pass in behind.

And just 106 seconds later, Simone Inzaghi's side doubled their lead through Benzema, who tucked home Malcom's cutback after it evaded Mansour Camara, with the Brazilian picked out by another sensational spot from Milinkovic-Savic. 

Al-Hilal were then awarded a penalty when Muhammad Sawaan brought down Malcolm, and though Benzema's spot-kick was saved by Juan Pablo Cozzani, the Frenchman was on hand to head the ball into the net on the rebound. 

Benzema completed his hat-trick in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, finishing first time at the back post to convert another sumptuous assist by Milinkovic-Savic. 

The hosts pulled further clear 10 minutes after the restart when Al-Dawsari ruthlessly punished Camara's attempt to play out from the back, bending a shot into the top-right corner.

And the rout was complete 14 minutes from time, when Jamaan Al-Dosari's slack back pass was intercepted by Benzema, who laid the ball off for Leonardo to finish.

Data Debrief: Six of the best from Al-Hilal

Though they have now played a game more than league leaders Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal have put the pressure on their title rivals following this emphatic win.

Al-Hilal have now scored 3+ goals in their first four Pro League meetings against Al-Kholood (5-1 at home, 4-2 away, 3-1 away and 6-0 today), matching the record they previously managed against Al-Okhdood in the competition.

And though Benzema, who now has 16 league goals in 2025-26, will receive plaudits for his goals, Milinkovic-Savic was also impressive. He finished with team-high totals for chances created (two), passes in the final third (30) and successful dribbles (three). 

The title hopefuls were certainly worthy of their win, given they registered an expected goals (xG) total of 3 from their 16 shots, nine of which were on target, compared to Al-Kholood's measly 0.72 from nine attempts.