SPL Week 25: Al Ittihad late show, Al Hilal stays close and Ronaldo scores again
The Saudi Pro League is now home to some of football’s most recognizable names, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang putting the competition on the global football map. Each week, Al Arabiya English brings you the key storylines and highlights in the race for the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League title.
In Week 25, Al Ittihad claimed a late win over Al Riyadh to stay four points clear of nearest rival Al Hilal, which also won against Al Taawoun. Elsewhere, Al Qadsiah suffered a rare loss, while Cristiano Ronaldo maintained his excellent recent scoring form for Al Nassr in a 3-1 victory over Al Kholood. It was the last Saudi Pro League action of March, with the next fixtures taking place April 4-6 after the international break, in which Saudi Arabia faces two crunch qualifying matches in its bid to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Al Ittihad leaves it late
Al Ittihad escaped with the narrowest of 2-1 victories over Al Riyadh as a penalty from Saudi Arabia international striker Saleh al-Shehri in the 11th minute of stoppage time secured a valuable win for the Saudi Pro League leader. Late goals have punctuated Al Ittihad’s recent performances as Laurent Blanc’s side has stumbled a little in its attempts to win the club’s 10th league crown. But after scoring in stoppage time to snatch a 1-1 draw with Al Qadsiah last week, Al Ittihad went one better in Jeddah – recording a win that keeps it four points ahead of main rival Al Hilal.
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French winger Moussa Diaby has so often been the provider for Ittihad this season, with the summer 2024 signing from Aston Villa contributing a divisional-high 13 Saudi Pro League assists so far this season. Against Al Riyadh, however, Diaby grabbed the spotlight for himself with only his second Pro League goal of 2024-25 and first since October. Ten minutes into the second half, Diaby showed a sensational turn of pace to sprint clear of the Al Riyadh defense and score from a tight angle.
Al Ittihad captain Karim Benzema was twice left frustrated as he had goals ruled out by VAR and it was just a couple of minutes after that second disallowed effort that Al Riyadh grabbed an equalizer. It was a stunning solo effort from Iraq international midfielder Ibrahim Bayesh, who danced through the Ittihad midfield before sending a curling 20-yard strike past Al Ittihad goalkeeper Pedrag Rajkovic. However, Blanc’s players showed the spirit of a champion side to keep battling and – in stoppage-time – substitute al-Shehri, a former Al Hilal player, won and converted a penalty to send Al Ittihad fans wild at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium.
Al Hilal keeps up pressure
After turning around its AFC Champions League Elite last-16 tie with Pakhtakor earlier in the week with a thumping 4-1 win in Riyadh, Al Hilal returned to Saudi Pro League action looking to stay on Al Ittihad’s coattails in the title race. With its Jeddah rival having won 48 hours earlier to open up a seven-point gap, Al Hilal produced a composed performance to beat a talented Al Taawoun team 2-0 away from home and move back to within four points of the top of the table.
If Jorge Jesus’ side is to rein in Al Ittihad and retain its Saudi Pro League title, it will need its most experienced players to come to the fore in the closing weeks of the season. Saudi international midfielder Mohamed Kanno is certainly one of those whose calming influence is required and, just as he did last time out against Al Fayha, the 30-year-old stepped up to score the first goal of the game in Buraidah on Saturday. Kanno stole in at the near post to head home the 12th-minute corner of Green Falcons team-mate Salem al-Dawsari and having gone 18 Saudi Pro League games without a goal this season, Kanno has now netted two in two matches.
Host Al Taawoun was also in midweek continental action, booking its place in the semi-finals of the AFC Champions League 2 – Asia’s secondary club competition. However, Al Taawoun coach Mohammed al-Abdali has a much smaller squad to call on than opposite number Jesus and it showed in this match as the strength in depth of Al Hilal’s roster shone through. Although Al Taawoun had more possession than Al Hilal, it was the away team that regularly peppered its opponent’s goal with shots and eventually grabbed the decisive second goal. Marcos Leonardo rose to head home full-back Hamad al-Yami’s right-wing, his 17th of a prolific debut Pro League season.
Ronaldo scores again in Al Nassr win
A superb first-half display from Al Nassr was enough to see Stefano Pioli’s side over the line as it beat Al Kholood 3-1 in Riyadh. The score did not necessarily reflect the ebb and flow of the game, however, with Al Nassr surviving a second-half onslaught from Al Kholood following the 56th-minute red card to Nawaf Boushal. Despite conceding once, Al Nassr held on for a win that saw it leapfrog Al Qadsiah into third place in the Saudi Pro League table, though it remains 10 points behind leader Al Ittihad.
Al Nassr progressed to the finals stage of the AFC Champions League Elite earlier in the week and started brightly again on Friday, with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo giving his side the lead after just four minutes. Jhon Duran’s close-range effort was well blocked but the ball fell to Ronaldo, who made no mistake slotting the ball in for his 19th goal of the season. Ronaldo is one clear of Al Shabab’s Abderrazak Hamdallah in the race for the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League Golden Boot.
Sadio Mane, whose determined running had helped create his team’s first goal, doubled Al Nassr’s lead in the 26th minute. The Senegal star timed his run perfectly to meet Salem al-Najdi’s left-wing cross and divert the ball past Al Kholood goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe. It was Mane’s second goal in three games and seventh of the campaign.
Record signing Jhon Duran is not far behind after putting Al Nassr 3-0 up with a low left-foot strike from the edge of the box; the Colombia striker has scored five in six league games since arriving from Aston Villa. Al Kholood narrowed the deficit on 76 minutes, Ali Lajami’s own goal coming after Boushal’s red card reduced Al Nassr to 10 men. But Pioli’s team hung on to take the victory.
Best of the rest
A pair of stoppage-time goals from Saleh al-Abbas and Saviour Godwin gave relegation-threatened Al Akhdoud a surprising – and potentially crucial – 2-1 victory over Al Ahli. Damion Lowe’s first-half own goal looked to have handed Al Ahli the three points until Al Abbas struck five minutes into added time at the end of the match. With Al Ahli still reeling, Godwin struck to move 16th-placed Al Akhdoud two points away from safety and condemn Al Ahli to only its third defeat in 16 games so far in 2025.
Damac snatched a smash-and-grab win over high-flying Al Qadsiah as Habib Diallo’s penalty in the 11th minute of stoppage time saw the host triumph 1-0. Al Qadsiah dominated the game but could not find its way through a resolute Damac defense and in the game’s dying embers, left-back Gastón Álvarez handballed in the box under pressure from Diallo. The Senegal international forward then dispatched a nerveless spot-kick past Al Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
The battle for Saudi Pro League survival is getting more exciting with each passing week and Al Wehda produced a stirring performance to beat Al Khaleej 2-0 and climb off the bottom of the table. A goal in each half from Juninho Bacuna and Youssef Amyn helped the team from Mecca to a second straight win – the first time it has recorded successive victories in the Saudi Pro League since September 2023.
Replacing Wehda at the foot of the table is Al Raed, which lost 3-1 to fellow struggler Al Fateh. It was the second time in as many games that Raed suffered a reverse to a relegation rival – having been defeated by Al Wehda last time out. On this occasion, Matias Vargas’ brace and a second-half penalty from Mourad Batna helped Al Fateh to a win that keeps it two points above the relegation zone.
Elsewhere, Al Shabab smashed six past Al Orobah as Abderrazak Hamdallah’s hat-trick took him to within one goal of Cristiano Ronaldo in the race to be the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer this season. Cristian Guanca, Giacomo Bonaventura and Wesley Hoedt were also on the scoresheet in Shabab’s comprehensive 6-0 victory.
Ex-Manchester United and Roma defender Chris Smalling scored his first goal for Al Fayha to help his team to a 2-0 win away at Al Ettifaq. Smalling struck in first-half stoppage time to give Fayha the lead, before a second-half own goal from Brazilian teenager João Costa completed a win that keeps Pedro Emanuel’s team five points clear of the Saudi Pro League dropzone.
