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• D.C. United v Philadelphia Union: Gazdag eyes response after landmark goal overshadowed

  Daniel Gazdag says the Philadelphia Union must "run through walls" against D.C. United on Saturday, after he saw a personal milestone overshadowed by back-to-back defeats for Jim Curtin's team.

  Gazdag became Philadelphia's all-time leading scorer on Tuesday, netting his 57th goal for the club against the Seattle Sounders at Subaru Park. 

  However, that goal wasn't enough to prevent the Union from sliding to a 3-2 loss, just three days after they suffered their first MLS defeat of 2024 against Real Salt Lake.

  While Gazdag was pleased to seal his place in franchise history, he was frustrated it didn't count for more and wants to make amends this weekend. 

  "It's obviously a nice number. I'm happy that I've become the all-time leading goalscorer for the club. That's amazing," Gazdag said. 

  "When I got here three years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed about it. I'm happy with that, I'll be happy in the future, for sure, but it's just annoying we played like that.

  "After two games like this, we have to go out there and just run through walls to win the next game, it doesn't matter who we're up against."

  Philadelphia sit seventh in the Eastern Conference with 13 points from nine games, an identical tally to that accumulated by D.C. through 10 matches.

  Troy Lesesne's men beat Seattle 2-1 last Saturday to halt a three-match winless run, but he says they are yet to produce a complete performance since he took charge. 

  "With the ball, what we want to do is keep the tempo high," Lesesne said.

  "We want to see out a complete performance, which is still something we're going after, and hopefully against Philadelphia we can have another go at that."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  D.C. United – Christian Benteke

  Benteke scored both of D.C.'s goals against Seattle last week, moving to eight goals in MLS this season. Only Lionel Messi, with nine, has outscored the former Liverpool man.

  The Belgian has also netted 12 of his team's last 21 MLS goals in a run dating back to late September (0.57 per cent).  

  Philadelphia Union – Julian Carranza 

  Carranza scored two hat-tricks against D.C. United in the 2022 season. 

  The Argentine, who has four goals in MLS this term, is looking to break new ground on Saturday – no player in MLS history has scored three hat-tricks against a single opponent before.

  MATCH PREDICTION – PHILADELPHIA UNION WIN

  The Union have won six of their last eight regular-season away matches against D.C. (one draw, one defeat), scoring 24 goals in those matches including nine in the last two. 

  They are favourites to preserve their strong record at Audi Field, having gone unbeaten through their first five road games of an MLS season (two wins, three draws) for the second time (also in 2021).

  Since 2015, only the 2022 New York Red Bulls have opened a season with a six-game unbeaten run on the road. Philadelphia have what it takes to replicate that feat, with D.C. not winning consecutive matches within a single season since April 2023. 

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  D.C. United – 29.2% 

  Philadelphia Union – 42.4%

  Draw – 28.4% 

• Saudi Pro League: Mahrez and Firmino on target as Al-Ahli tighten grip on third place

  Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino were both on target as Al-Ahli tightened their grip on third place in the Saudi Pro League table with a 4-1 win over Damac on Thursday.

  Matthias Jaissle's team were four goals up within just 25 minutes as Damac folded, Ziyad Al Johani and Feras Al Brikan netting their first two before Franck Kessie was felled by Dhari Al Anazi for a penalty, converted by Mahrez.

  Firmino then tapped home a fourth after being teed up by former Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin on the break, but Al-Ahli took their foot off the gas from there, Domagoj Antolic's second-half consolation rounding off the scoring.

  Elsewhere, 10-man Al-Riyadh scored two stoppage-time draws to earn a dramatic 2-2 draw with Al-Fateh in Al-Mubarraz. 

  Goals from Djaniny and former Columbus Crew star Lucas Zelarayan put Slaven Bilic's hosts on the brink of victory, with Al-Riyadh playing almost half the game a player down after Khalid Al Shuwayyi's 54th-minute red card. 

  An astonishing collapse denied them, however, with Mohammed Al Shwirekh halving the arrears one minute into stoppage time before Didier Ndong headed in a left-wing cross three minutes later.

  Thursday's other game saw Al-Hazm and Al-Akhdoud play out a goalless draw, keeping the hosts bottom of the table while Al-Akhdoud inched two points clear of the relegation zone.

• Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final

  Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.

  Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.

  Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.

  Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.

  Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.

  The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.

  Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle

  Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.

  The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.