Ronaldo strike wins a thrilling derby for Al Nassr, Al Hilal march on | OneFootball

Defending champions Al Hilal marked their return to Kingdom Arena with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Al Fayha on Friday evening.

Al Fayha were the only team to take points from Al Hilal at the latter’s home, drawing 1-1 at King Fahd International Stadium, but with a much changed side and a new manager in charge at the Al Majma’ah club, matters were different this time around.

Goals from Marcos Leonardo and Salem Al Dawsari either side of the halftime break put Al Hilal in the driving seat before youngster Mohammed Al Qahtani came off the bench to seal the victory for the league leaders.

It took just five minutes for the hosts to edge ahead after Al Dawsari fed the marauding Renan Lodi down the left and the former Sevilla left-back sent a perfect drilled cross towards his fellow Brazilian Leonardo who swept home from seven yards out for his first RSL goal.

The 21-year-old Santos youth produce could have doubled his tally before the half-hour mark, rising highest to head Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s cross from the left, but watched his effort bounce back off the upright.

Captain Al Dawsari doubled Al Hilal’s lead in the 65th minute, heading in past goalkeeper Abdulraouf Al Duqayl after Joao Cancelo had exchanged a one-two with Milinkovic-Savic before crossing for the Saudi international to bag his team’s second.

The game was put to bed with nine minutes left on the clock. Al Fayha threw everything forward in an attempt to reduce the deficit, but left themselves exposed to counter attacks, one of which Malcom led with explosive pace, before setting up youngster Mohammed Al Qahtani who controlled and drilled into the bottom corner for 3-0.

Jorge Jesus’ men become the first side to cross the 20-goal mark this campaign and extend their unbeaten run in the competition to 43 matches, dating back to the 2021-22 season, meanwhile Al Fayha remain with just one win in their seven outings this term.

Al Khaleej v Al Ahli

Al Ahli got back to winning ways after returning from the East Coast with a comfortable 3-0 win over ten-man Al Khaleej, arresting a run of two consecutive losses that had seen them slip into the bottom half of the RSL table.

A closely contested first half gave way to a one-sided second period, with a red card for the hosts marking the turning point in the match.

Al Ahli’s best chance of the opening half came deep in added time when Franck Kessie struck the ball on the half-volley but his finish just wide.

Al Khaleej were reduced to ten men just eight minutes into the second after midfielder Khalid Al Sumairi received a straight red card following a VAR check after a reckless challenge from behind on substitute Roberto Firmino.

The visitors took advantage instantly, with the resulting free-kick sent into the box by Riyad Mahrez for Ivan Toney who headed it across the mouth of goal for Firas Al Buraikan who powered in a header for his first goal of the RSL season.

Toney turned from provider to scorer in the 70th minute. The former Brentford ace got on the end of a deflected Kessie pass and fired on the half-volley, beating goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic for his side’s second of the night and his third of the season.

The Englishman was once more involved in the build-up to an Al Ahli goal. Gabri Veiga’s delivery into the box was headed by Toney. He was denied by a fine Sehic save, but the ball fell into the path of Merih Demiral and the Turkish centre-back squeezed it in from close range to round-off the 3-0 victory.

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Al Shabab v Al Nassr

Stefano Pioli’s perfect start to life in the Roshn Saudi League continued as the Italian tactician recorded a fourth consecutive win at the helm of Al Nassr in a dramatic derby encounter at Al Shabab Club Stadium.

The late Friday kick-off looked headed for a routine 1-0 Al Nassr win as added time of the second half approached, but multiple late twists ensued in the dying embers as hosts Al Shabab emerged second best in the final whistle.

Spanish international defender Aymeric Laporte broke the deadlock after 68 minutes in a closely fought Riyadh derby, hitting an acrobatic strike into the roof of the net to open the scoring for Al Nassr.

As the clock struck the 90-minute mark, youngster Nawaf Al Saadi showed his quality, coming off the bench. The former Abha winger beat his marker down the left and drilled a cross that was inadvertently sent into the back of Al Nassr net by Ali Al Hassan to draw the game level.

Seven minutes into added time, Abdulrahman Ghareeb made his way into Al Shabab penalty box on the counter, before being brought down by defender Robert Renan. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to convert confidently for his fourth goal of the season.

Just as Al Nassr thought they had won the derby, the very last attack for the hosts resulted in another penalty. Centre-back Mohamed Simakan misjudged his tackle on Nader Al Sharari inside the box, prompting the referee to point to the spot and issue the 24-year-old Frenchman a second booking after a VAR review.

Wearing the captain’s armband and facing the club with which he won the RSL top scorer award twice, Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah’s moment had come, and he was able to send goalkeeper Bento the wrong way, only to watch the ball come back off the upright with what was the final piece of action in a thrilling encounter.

The win means Ronaldo and company remain one of two unbeaten sides in the competition and advance to within four points of leaders Al Hilal. Al Shabab, meanwhile, remain fourth but will need to arrest their run of two matches without a win.