Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has revealed that his players were “full of sadness” after Al-Ettifaq drew 1-1 with Al-Ittihad at the weekend.

Following a string of attendances below 700 for games involving Al-Ettifaq, whose squad contains former Liverpool midfielders Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum, 12,300 supporters turned up for the clash with the reigning Saudi Pro League champions.

And it proved to be another share of the spoils for Gerrard’s side, who have now drawn their last three matches to extend their unbeaten run to four. Wijnaldum opened the scoring before the break after reacting quickest to a rebound to score his fifth goal of the season.

Up against Wijnaldum and Henderson was their former Reds midfield partner Fabinho. It was the first the trio had been on the same field since they made the switch to Saudi Arabia in the summer.

And Fabinho proved to be a thorn in the side for Gerrard, Henderson and Wijnaldum, assisting Abderrazak Hamdallah for Al-Ittihad’s equaliser nine minutes into the second half.

“The dressing room was full of sadness on my players faces because of the draw,” Gerrard began. “We are disappointed with the result. We were closer to getting the three points.

“No player deserves to be changed, to be honest. That’s why we did not use the bench for this match.”

Since taking over Al-Ettifaq, Gerrard has overseen six wins from 14 league games. His team remain in seventh in the Saudi Pro League standings, 15 points off leaders Al-Hilal, while Al Ittihad crept up to fourth, leapfrogging Al-Taawoun on goal difference.