MW19 Talking Points: Al Hilal's title rivals close, Toney treble, NEOM SC bite back | OneFootball

The Roshn Saudi League delivered once more in Matchweek 19, with a gripping encounter in Dammam ending all square and, in the process, further igniting what’s proving to be a thrilling title race.

That, plus several hat-trick heroes and teams battling to keep afloat - you simply couldn’t take your eyes off the action. Luckily, we’ve sieved through it all to bring you some of the major storylines from an absolutely rocking round.

Al Hilal reeled back in

A second successive draw and Al Hilal’s advantage at the summit has gone from seven points to three. A 2-2 result at red-hot Al Qadsiah is not to be sniffed at - the match delivered, and then some - but it meant Al Nassr and Al Ahli are within a win from pulling level.

And next up? On Monday, Al Hilal host third-placed at Al Ahli, who have won eight on the bounce. Oh, and don’t forget on-song Al Qadsiah in fourth, who are only six points back. This title race is pure FIRE.

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Joao Felix doesn’t need goals

Where Al Hilal have stumbled in the past week, Al Nassr are soaring again. They’ve come through a sticky patch of their own to claw back the gap at the top, their 3-0 victory at Al Kholood their fourth RSL win on the trot.

Felix was on fire in Ar Rass and, while he didn’t break a now seven-match goalless streak, the Portuguese forward was integral to the triumph. Felix grabbed two assists to set Al Nassr on their way, then justifiably collected a sixth Man of the Match award of the season. Yet all he really wants? The RSL title.

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Ivan Toney’s on fire

A hat-trick in the Saudi Arabian top flight is always impressive, but two in the space of eight days? Hats off, then, to Toney, who followed his treble against Al Khaleej with another in Al Ahli’s 4-0 win at home to Al Ettifaq.

That makes it 13 goals in the past eight RSL matches, and 18 for the season, to catapult to the top of the 2025-26 scoring charts. With it, Al Ahli are only three points from the head of the table, with Al Hilal up next.

And Toney loves a game against the Riyadh giants (as does his son): he’s netted six times in four meetings.

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NEOM SC heed Galtier call

Safe to say, Christophe Galtier was pretty upset with his side.

NEOM Sports Club had just lost 3-0 at home to Al Ahli, making it four defeats in their past five matches. So, in the post-match press conference, Galtier read the riot act.

Well, it seems to have had the desired effect. NEOM SC saw off Damac 3-0 at home, headline summer signing Alexandre Lacazette getting back among the goals to help his club to only a second win in eight RSL outings.

Although still not quite where they want to be, NEOM SC are back in the top half of the table, sitting ninth. Suddenly, a top-six finish feels attainable again.

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Lift-off for Al Shabab?

What a difference a couple of weeks can make. Only five rounds ago, Al Shabab were winless in 11 matches, had lost four in a row and were languishing in the relegation zone. For a club of their size, and RSL champions as recently as 2011-12, it clearly wasn’t good enough.

However, a hard-fought victory against NEOM SC has sparked a pretty decent run - Al Shabab’s only defeat in that time came in a see-saw encounter at Al Nassr - culminating in the huge 4-0 triumph at Al Hazem. Taking the goalscoring burden off Yannick Carrasco, Carlos Junior hit a hat-trick.

So, Al Shabab are up to 13th, the pressure easing on manager Imanol Alguacil. Can they use this as a platform to vault up the standings?