- Gerrard’s side are struggling in Saudi Pro League, without a win in two months
- The former Aston Villa boss was sacked from the Premier League last season
- Ian Ladyman expects Chris Sutton’s New Year’s resolution to go up in smoke in less than a week – It’s All Kicking Off
Steven Gerrard’s woes in Saudi Arabia continued after as his team conceded a last-minute equaliser against struggling Al-Hazm.
Taking over at Al-Ettifaq in the summer, the former Aston Villa manager brought in a cohort of ex-Premier League stars, including Jordan Henderson.
Demarai Gray, Moussa Dembele, and former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum are also in Al-Ettifaq’s squad.
Gray managed to break the deadlock in the 70th minute, seemingly putting an end to Gerrard’s nine-game winless streak, which had lingered for about two months.
Al Ettifaq are struggling to find a win after going winless for the last two months
Liverpool’s former captain Jordan Henderson moved to the Saudi side during the summer
The league has filled with superstar names, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr
However, to Gerrard’s dismay, his team conceded a stoppage-time penalty, squandering the opportunity for a much-needed victory.
Al-Hazm, having won only two of their 19 Saudi Pro League games this season, managed to level the score from the spot through Toze.
Al-Ettifaq had been unbeaten in every encounter with Al-Hazm since February 2020.
Gerrard, 43, was dismissed by Aston Villa last season, but is now under scrutiny in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier in the week, he pleaded for reinforcements to bolster his squad: ‘We need to show in this window, and also the summer window, that we mean business and we want to be competitive at the top of the league, and not where we are at the moment. It’s a collective thing.’
Al-Ettifaq face tenth-place Al-Khaleej before a challenging away match against league leaders Al-Hilal, with Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ruben Neves on their books.
