Football fans around the world are currently focusing on the Saudi Professional League like never before, following the arrival of numerous prominent stars in the kingdom over the past year. Each week, “Al Arabiya English” provides you with a summary of the main events as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Neymar, and others compete for the title of the 2023-2024 season.
Al Nassr Triumphs in the Capital Battle
Last week in Riyadh, Al Nassr’s hopes of winning the Saudi League title took a significant hit after a 0-3 defeat against Al Hilal, a formidable rival and long-time competitor. This time, they had to face another battle in the capital – against the smaller Al Riyadh team, which has never won the Saudi League title before. Al Nassr needed an immediate response to last week’s disappointment, and their players delivered a stellar performance, winning 4-1.
After a series of missed free kicks in the first half, Al Nassr finally scored in the 31st minute. Sadio Mané delivered a cross from the left side into a dangerous area, and Cristiano Ronaldo was ready to score his 16th goal in 15 matches in the Saudi League this season. Ronaldo then provided an assist in injury time of the first half, which was met by Otávio with a superb header to double the score.
In the second half, Mané provided another assist in the match, passing the ball to Talisca, who remained calm and slotted the ball under goalkeeper Martín Campaña.
Al Riyadh managed to create a few opportunities throughout the match but only succeeded in scoring a consolation goal from a single shot on target by André Gray. Al Nassr’s victory was confirmed with a header in stoppage time from Talisca, who now has 10 goals in 11 league matches this season.
The easy win for Luis Castro’s team helped them overcome the disappointment of last week’s derby. All they can do now is continue winning and hope that Al Hilal stumbles.
Al Ittihad’s Drop Before FIFA Date
The current Saudi champion seemed to have one eye on the Club World Cup this week, which will be held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as they suffered an unexpected defeat of 1-3 in the league against Dhamak. The match was tumultuous and focused on a few key moments just before and after halftime, where Cosmin Contra’s team outperformed their rivals at Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Stadium in Abha.
Cameroonian player Georges-Kévin Nkoudou has been in unbelievable form lately, proving to be Dhamak’s hero once again. Nkoudou scored the winning goal after he broke through Al Ittihad’s defense and blasted the ball with his left foot high into the net in the 12th minute.
The Jeddah team equalized in the dying moments of the first half – thanks to a penalty converted by Abderrazak Hamdallah, who was cool under pressure, but Dhamak regained the lead before halftime. Nkoudou received the ball on the left side of the area, cut inside, and struck a beautiful shot to restore Dhamak’s lead.
Dhamak scored the third goal in the first minute of the second half after a long-range shot from Tareq Hossain hit the crossbar and then rebounded off Al Ittihad’s goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe into the net as an own goal. The home team continued to win 3-1, climbing to sixth place in the league, four points ahead of Al Ittihad.
Al Hilal
Faces Difficulty
After the big win in the sports derby 3-0 last week against Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal faced Al-Taawoun, a team that has regained its form in recent weeks after winning two consecutive matches for the first time this season, leaving some space between it and the relegation competitors.
As usual, it turned out that Al-Taawoun was a tough opponent for Jorge Jesus’s team, although Al-Hilal managed to win 2-1 in the end. However, this was only the third time Al-Hilal has won a league match this season by a single goal, as they are used to dominating their local rivals by significant margins.
Salm Al-Dosari scored Al-Hilal’s first goal after 20 minutes with a stunning shot, as he controlled the ball in the air and fired brilliantly past the opposing keeper Moataz Al-Baqawi and into Al-Taawoun’s net.
Alexander Mitrovic doubled Al-Hilal’s lead in the 30th minute, where his physical strength won a penalty that he converted after checking the Video Assistant Referee in favor of Al-Hilal. Mitrovic has now scored in each of his last seven matches in the Saudi league. However, Al-Taawoun did not give up against the leading team.
In a competitive moment with Al-Dosari’s goal, goalkeeper Tarik Mohammed noticed Bounou outside his goal and lifted the ball over him from nearly 30 yards out in a brilliant moment of creativity just before the end of the first half. Although the final score was 2-1, the result should give Al-Taawoun a lot of confidence moving forward.
Other Top Teams
The global flyer continued its winning streak from last week with another victory as it seems to have recovered from a dip that saw them drop from second place in the title race to fifth in just a few weeks. The Pericles Chamouska team now sits in fourth place after a comfortable 4-1 win in their first home match against Al-Fayha.
The visiting team had given all they had in the midweek match to qualify for the group stage of the AFC Champions League. Thus, it was a surprise when Fashion Sakala scored for the team just six minutes in. However, fatigue started to show soon after, as the team began to take control of the game. Mattheus Castro, Ashraf Mehadjiol, and Abdul Fattah Adam scored, with the highlight being the first goal for striker Musa Barrow in seven matches, earning the team a three-point victory.
The tough period for the team of Al-Ittifaq led by Steven Gerrard continued, as the gap left by Moussa Dembélé in their attack reappeared in a thrilling goalless draw away against Al-Shabab. Ever Banega and Gustavo Cuéllar were sent off from the home side, while Demarai Gray was also sent off for Al-Ittifaq in this draw.
Gerrard’s team has failed to score in seven out of nine matches, winning only one of their last ten matches in all competitions. However, the team’s defensive stability remains a reason for optimism, as they have only conceded 16 goals this season, with only Al-Fateh and Al-Hilal having conceded fewer.
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