Toney & Mahrez help Al Ahli reclaim top spot with huge Sea Derby win | OneFootball

Al Ahli moved top of the Roshn Saudi League on Friday night with a 3-1 triumph in the Sea Derby against champions Al Ittihad in front of more than 50,000 spectators at Alinma Stadium.

Matthias Jaissle’s side, the current Asian title-holders, made it a derby double over their Jeddah rivals this season, with goals from Ivan Toney, Riyad Mahrez and Feras Al Buraikan securing the points. Al Ittihad captain Fabinho had earlier equalised from the penalty spot.

The victory, Al Ahli’s 13th from their past 14 RSL games, saw Friday’s hosts usurp Al Nassr at the summit to now lead the championship by a point. Cristiano Ronaldo’s side sit second, ahead of Riyadh counterparts Al Hilal on goal difference.

The latter drew level on points with Al Nassr after Karim Benzema’s double helped seal a 4-0 home win against bottom club Al Najmah. Al Nassr, though, can reclaim top spot on Saturday when they host NEOM Sports Club at Al Awwal Park.

At a fervent Alinma Stadium, Al Ahli took the lead on 23 minutes when Toney stroked home Galeno’s brilliant low cross. It lifted the England international to 24 RSL goals for the season, extending his advantage at the top of the 2025-26 scoring charts to two.

In fact, when allied with his five assists, Toney now holds the record for most goal contributions in a single season for Al Ahli, overtaking RSL all-time top scorer Omar Al Somah.

Still, it took Al Ittihad only six minutes into the second half to restore parity. Steven Bergwijn was tripped by Zakaria Hawsawi inside the Al Ahli penalty area, leaving former Liverpool midfielder Fabinho to send ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy the wrong way from the spot.

Yet it didn’t take long for Al Ahli to go back ahead. Just before the hour, Galeno again supplied the assist, even if another low cross this time evaded Toney. Mahrez was waiting at the back post, the Algerian star cutting back inside onto his left foot to drill a low shot past Predrag Rajkovic.

The Al Ittihad No.1 then conspired to gift Al Ahli’s third when, with six minutes remaining, he got caught on the ball to allow substitute Al Buraikan to stroke into the empty net.

With a second derby success of the campaign, Al Ahli will enjoy local bragging rights for some time yet. As will their fans, who pre-match unfurled a superb tifo emblazoned with only one word: “Dominance”.