SPL Week 33: Ronaldo closes in on Golden Boot as champion Al Ittihad wins

Al Arabiya

24-05-2025

The Saudi Pro League is now home to some of football's most recognizable names, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang putting the competition on the global football map. Each week, Al Arabiya English brings you the key storylines and highlights in the race for the 2024-25 Saudi Pro League title.
In Week 33, the penultimate matchday of the campaign, Cristiano Ronaldo scored to ensure the race between Al Nassr and Al Qadsiah for third place goes down to the final game. Elsewhere, newly crowned champion Al Ittihad beat Al Shabab, Al Hilal was held by Al Wehda and Al Orobah suffered relegation to the Saudi First Division.
Ronaldo keeps Al Nassr in ACL 2 hunt
Cristiano Ronaldo was back in the Al Nassr starting XI after missing the club's past two games and the Portuguese forward returned with a goal that helped seal a 2-0 win against Al Khaleej. AL Nassr stumbled to a 1-1 draw with Al Taawoun last time out in Ronaldo's absence - allowing Al Qadsiah to steal a march in the race for a third-place finish and a potential spot in the AFC Champions League 2 - Asia's secondary club competition. But with its captain back, Al Nassr secured a win that could still see it qualify for continental competition.
It had looked like being another frustrating night for Al Nassr as it attacked with intent but couldn't find the breakthrough. In the first half, Jhon Duran hit the post, while Ronaldo headed into the side netting and was denied by Khaleej goalkeeper Ozaybi Raed. When the Nassr No. 7 then dragged a penalty wide after the interval, it seemed fortune was not favoring the host. But 10 minutes later, Al Nassr finally breached Al Khaleej goal as Duran rose to head in Sadio Mane's left-wing cross.
Al Khaleej stayed in the game until Al Nassr was awarded another spot-kick in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Determined to atone for his earlier miss, Ronaldo stepped up again and successfully netted his 24th goal of the season. He is two clear of his nearest competitor and firmly on course to win the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot for a second straight season. Al Nassr now needs to hope that Qadsiah slips up twice - in its final match of the league season, and the King's Cup final; if that happens, then Al Nassr can still qualify for the AFC Champions League 2.
Dynamic duo helps Al Qadsiah close in
Al Qadsiah remains on course for its best ever Saudi Pro League season as a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and goal from Julián Quiñones saw the club from Dammam beat Al Orobah 3-1 to stay in pole position for AFC Champions League 2 qualification. Michel's side still has two pathways to Asian football next season. It could beat Al Ittihad in the King's Cup later this month or - if defeated by the Pro League champion in that showpiece - finish third in the Pro League. It currently occupies that position after a series of excellent performances in recent weeks and is one point clear of Al Nassr, knowing that if it matches Ronaldo and Co's result, it will be guaranteed continental competition in 2025-26.
After a goalless first half in Dammam, the game burst into life in the second as Quiñones put Al Qadsiah ahead - volleying low past Gaëtan Coucke after his initial headed effort was blocked. It was Quiñones' 20th goal of an excellent debut season in which he has developed an excellent partnership with Aubameyang. Quiñones aptly demonstrated this for Al Qadsiah's second as he lifted the ball towards the ex-Barcelona and Arsenal striker, who headed home to double his team's lead.
Aubameyang then grabbed his second to put the game out of sight a few minutes from time. The Gabon international danced through Al Orobah defense and fired in a low left-foot shot from the edge of the box for his 17th goal of the campaign. Al Orobah grabbed a late consolation through Omar Al-Somah, the Saudi Pro League's all-time leading scorer, but it was not enough for the visitor which, barring a near-impossible shift in goal difference, will be playing its football in the Saudi First Division next season.
Diaby double downs Al Shabab
Al Ittihad put an exclamation point on its Saudi Pro League title triumph by holding on to beat Fatih Terim's Al Shabab 3-2 in Riyadh. Ittihad sealed its 10th Pro League title triumph last time out and Laurent Blanc's side was in celebratory mood against Al Shabab, with Moussa Diaby opening the scoring after just 28 seconds with a curling left-foot strike. The Frenchman was clearly champing at the bit to be involved having been suspended from the past two matches, and he scored his and Al Ittihad's second before half-time. Diaby raced onto Steven Bergwijn's pass before producing a delicious lob over Shabab goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan.
It was Diaby's fifth Pro League strike of the season and took him up to 19 goal contributions; he is chasing down the division's best ever single season total of assists and needs one in the final game to equal the record of 15, and two to surpass it. His teammate Bergwijn now also has 19 goal contributions for the season after he scored Al Ittihad's third against Al Shabab. Dutchman Bergwijn received N'Golo Kante's pass on the left-side of the box and finished right-footed to complete a rapid counter-attack.
That goal made it 3-1, as Al Shabab had snatched one back through veteran Belgian winger Yannick Carrasco in first-half stoppage time. And the host then drew within one again in the 67th minute as Cristian Guanca continued his prolific recent form, heading in Daniel Podence's cross for his eighth goal in 12 matches. The game stayed 3-2 in Al Ittihad's favor and arguably the most frustrated man in Riyadh was Al Shabab striker Abderrazak Hamdallah. His failure to find the net against his former team means Hamdallah now needs a hat-trick in his last game to draw level with Cristiano Ronaldo and win the Pro League Golden Boot for the fourth time in his career.
Best of the rest
A stoppage-time equalizer from Sergej-Milinkovic Savic earned Al Hilal a 1-1 draw with Al Wehda, denying its opponent the opportunity to confirm its place in the Saudi Pro League next season. Al Hilal winger Malcom hit the bar and had a goal disallowed before Al Wehda took the lead just after half-time through Abdulaziz Noor. But Milinkovic-Savic's late strike secured a point that mathematically assured Hilal of a place in next season's ACL Elite. For Al Wehda, now just one point above the dropzone, a tricky final game against Al Ettifaq awaits.
A pair of late goals from Georginio Wijnaldum and Madallah Al-Olayan gave Al Ettifaq a surprise away win at Asian champion Al Ahli. It was the host that took the lead early on through a penalty from Ivan Toney, who is two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot. But Mohammed Abdulrahman levelled for Al Ettifaq shortly after half-time, before clutch goals from Wijnaldum and Al-Olayan delivered the visitor the win.
A late goal in each half helped Al Kholood to a 2-0 victory at home to Al Fayha that ensured the host, a Saudi Pro League debutant in 2024-25, will stay in the division for another season. Young Saudi forward Hammam Al-Hammami scored Al Kholood's opener in first-half stoppage time and Aliou Dieng's 82nd-minute strike left the home fans jubilant as the club's Pro League survival was confirmed.
Al Akhdoud still has a chance to stay in the Saudi Pro League after a narrow 1-0 win over already-relegated Al Raed. Saviour Godwin's goals have helped keep Al Akhdoud afloat and the Nigerian forward was on target again with his fourth match-winning strike in the past nine games. Al Akhdoud plays Al Khaleej in its final game, needing to both win and hope that 15th-placed Al Wehda slips up.
Al Fateh confirmed its Pro League survival with a 1-0 victory that saw it leapfrog opponent Damac into 12th place in the table. Fateh's remarkable turnaround, after a poor first half of the season, was completed by Mourad Batna's second-half winner - which came after Damac's Dhari Al-Anazi saw red shortly after the half-time break.
Al Taawoun overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Al Riyadh 3-2 in its final home game of the 2024-25 season. Enes Sali and Faiz Selemani put the visitor ahead at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Buraidah. But Al Taawoun's top scorer this season, Musa Barrow, converted from the penalty spot to get his side back into the game with his 13th goal of the campaign. Late second-half goals from Saudi pair Hattan Bahebri and Abdulfattah Adam secured the three points for Al Taawoun.