When you hand a young striker his first starting shirt of the season, you expect hunger—but George Ilenikhena delivered an absolute masterclass.
The Nigerian forward put on a Man of the Match display on Tuesday evening, firing home a brilliant first-half brace to power Al-Ittihad past Al-Najma in their King’s Cup Round of 32 clash.
It took the 20-year-old just 15 minutes to announce himself at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium.
Latching onto a slick through-ball from Ahmed Al Ghamdi, the Nigerian attacker uncorked a lethal left-footed strike from the left side of the box, driving it straight into the top left corner to set the tone early.
Having already broken his duck during pre-season against Malaga, this was the moment Ilenikhena officially launched his competitive goalscoring account for The Tigers.
He doubled down in the 38th minute, catching the defense flat-footed with another precision left-footed effort—this time from outside the area into the bottom right corner—to give Al-Ittihad a commanding two-goal cushion before the break.
Beyond his clinical finishing, Ilenikhena completely ran the show in the final third. He dominated opposition defenders with a game-high 10 touches inside the penalty box before earning a well-deserved standing ovation when Saleh Al-Shehri replaced him just past the hour mark.
Danilo Pereira wrapped up the comfortable 3-0 victory six minutes after the restart, nodding home Muath Fagihy’s corner from close range.
Yet, as the final whistle blew, all eyes remained on the Nigerian wonderkid whose explosive first start proved he is ready to lead the line for the Jeddah giants this season.
