Shrewd signings, home fortress, Jesus' mentality: How Al Nassr won title | OneFootball

It’s a statement seven long years in the making but finally it can be said again: Al Nassr are champions of Saudi Arabia.

While three consecutive defeats after an 11-game unbeaten start threatened to derail their 2025-26 Roshn Saudi League campaign, Jorge Jesus’s side rebounded to finish the season with 18 wins and one draw from their final 20 matches.

And, with it, the yellow half of Riyadh returned to the summit of Saudi football for the first time since 2019.

But how did Al Nassr get the job done? We identify five key reasons for their historic success this season.

--------

Shrewd recruitment

Al Nassr were one of the most active clubs in the summer transfer market, overhauling their squad with fresh faces that played pivotal roles throughout the 2025-26 campaign.

The signing of Joao Felix, linking up him with compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo in attack, proved a masterstroke. The Portuguese dynamo was one of the standout players in the league, with 20 goals and 13 assists - enough to see him voted as the 2025-26 SPL Player of the Season.

Then there was Inigo Martinez, the centre-back brought from Barcelona to help Al Nassr record a joint-high 17 clean sheets, and Kingsley Coman, who himself had 21 goal contributions including a screamer in the 4-1 title-deciding win against Damac.

It wasn’t only foreign signings, though. Abdulelah Al Amri arrived from champions Al Ittihad and was crucial in defence, while the winter signing of Abdullah Al Hamdan was typical of Al Nassr’s shrewd work in the transfer market; the former Al Hilal forward played an important role in the run home.

Abdullah Al Hamdan scores opener for Al Nassr at Al Khaleej

--------

Jorge Jesus

Need we say more? We will, because this was possibly the most decisive move of the off-season.

The Portuguese managerial great is a born winner. Jesus’ track record speaks for itself, both in Portugal and Saudi Arabia, and it was as close to a sure thing as Al Nassr were going to get when it came to turning around their fortunes.

It was a short-term solution, with the sole focus being winning RSL silverware this season, and already the 71-year-old has announced he won’t be sticking around for a second season.

However, Jesus leaves having completed the mission he was assigned - his second Saudi league trophy - as he built a side with the division’s most prolific attack (91 goals) and how kept out the opposition in exactly half of their matches.

In among that, there was the club-record, 16-game win streak that reeled in then-leaders Al Hilal. Departing with another top-flight title secured, Jesus’ legacy at Al Nassr is set in stone.

--------

Winning Mentality

This is perhaps the area where Jesus had the most significant impact. The Portuguese tactician demands the highest possible standards and instills a ruthless mentality into his players.

Not always known for the strongest mental fortitude in recent seasons, when things got bumpy this season, Al Nassr responded. Three consecutive losses mid-campaign saw them let slip top spot and then drop more than six points behind Al Hilal. In past seasons, that might’ve been enough to derail Al Nassr.

Abdulelah Al Amri (L) has been a rock in RSL leaders Al Nassr's defence

Yet this term, they responded by going on to win their next 16 to take back control of the league.

And, after the drama of the Capital Derby, when the title quite literally slipped from their grasp in the dying seconds of a lengthy stoppage-time, Al Nassr rallied in a pressure-cooker environment to rout Damac and clinch the trophy.

--------

Home Fortress

Al Awwal Park became a place no one wanted to visit this season. This was their Achilles heel last season; Al Nassr won little more than half of their league fixtures at home (nine of 17) to register the sixth-best record in the league. They collected only 32 points on their own patch.

It was a clear area for improvement heading into this season - and improve it they did.

Al Nassr's support at Al Awwal Park proved very much the team's "12th man"

Al Nassr turned that weakness into a real strength, finishing the campaign with the best home record in the competition by winning 15 of 17 games and collecting 46 points. Those 14 extra points more than last season made all the difference.

When coupled with their strong away form - Al Nassr were victories in 13 of 17 matches on the road, second only to Al Hilal after their closing win at Al Fayha - it made the newly crowned champions a formidable force.

--------

Finishing Strong

Perhaps speaking to their improved mental fortitude mentioned above, no team scored more goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season than Al Nassr.

The capital club netted 29 of their 91 goals (32 percent) during that time with, as expected, some proving absolutely crucial. Take, for example, the last-gasp winners against Al Fayha and NEOM Sports Club, and the two late goals in the 2-0 triumph earlier this month at home to title contenders Al Ahli.

It wasn’t just in the second half, either. The second-highest quarter-hour segment for Al Nassr goals was the final 15 minutes of the opening 45, in which they scored a further 20 times.

When combining those periods in each half, that’s more than half of their total goals. When the opposition tired, Al Nassr stepped it up.

And, in large part because of that never-say-die attitude, they now have a championship to celebrate.