'We're still fighting' - Mendy on Al Ahli title bid as Al Hilal drop points | OneFootball

Challenged the previous night by Cristiano Ronaldo and Co to keep up with Al Nassr, Al Ahli promptly obliged.

The Jeddah giants returned to Roshn Saudi League action on Saturday night with a comprehensive 3-0 victory at home to Damac, the current Asian champions maintaining their quest to reign supreme in Saudi Arabia, too.

The win, set in motion by Dhari Al Anazi’s 3rd-minute own goal and golden-boot frontrunner Ivan Toney’s 26th goal of the RSL season three minutes later, keeps Al Ahli third, but drew them level with second-placed Al Hilal and five points off leaders Al Nassr.

Ronaldo marked his 100th RSL appearance with a double on Friday in Al Nassr’s 5-2 win against bottom club Al Najmah while, 24 hours later, Al Hilal were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Al Taawoun.

So, with seven rounds remaining, Al Ahli have at least eliminated the gap to second. And, thanks to getting back to winning ways following a crushingly late defeat to title rivals Al Qadsiah last time out, a first top-flight crown in a decade remains in sight.

Speaking after Saturday’s 3-0 triumph, Al Ahli captain Edouard Mendy said: “It was a very important game after the [FIFA international] break.

“Now it's the final sprint, so we knew we had to take the points because we dropped some in Al Qadsiah for the first time for a while. So we knew that today was very important for the three points.

“You can see the way we started was very good with a lot of intensity, a lot of good combinations with the ball. Also without the ball, we pressed them high. We dominated the whole game.

“And you can see we have a lot of injuries, but we're still fighting. We stick together and you can see, no matter who plays, we perform. This is the most important.”

One of the RSL’s standouts since joining Al Ahli in 2023, Mendy is in pole position to land a first Goalkeeper of the Season award.

The Senegal international, 34, has kept 12 clean sheets this campaign, two more than Al Nassr’s Bento, his closest challenger in the battle for the 2025-26 RSL Golden Glove.

Of helping Al Ahli on Saturday to a 15th clean sheet overall this term, Mendy added: “Yeah, it's good. It's good for the team; it's good for myself, obviously.

“We know that if we don't concede, we have a higher chance to win the game. So for us, it's really important to not concede goals, to keep the goal closed. So [doing so against Damac] is good - and we have to just keep on going.”