07-04-2025
SPL Week 26: Al Ittihad extends lead with Derby draw as Ronaldo downs Al Hilal
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 26, Cristiano Ronaldo led Al Nassr to a Riyadh Derby victory against Al Hilal - a result that gave Al Ittihad the chance to move further ahead at the top of the table. Laurent Blanc's league leader nearly threw away that opportunity but Karim Benzema claimed a late 2-2 draw with Al Ahli in the Jeddah Derby to extend the gap between Ittihad and Hilal to five points. Elsewhere, there was also a draw in the Dammam Derby between Al Ettifaq and Al Qadsiah, while Abderrazak Hamdallah took a step towards a Saudi Pro League scoring record.
Benzema salvages Derby draw
In a dramatic Jeddah Derby, Al Ittihad twice fought back to earn a 2-2 draw against Al Ahli, moving Laurent Blanc's side five points clear in the race for the Saudi Pro League title. Ahli took the lead twice with goals from Roger Ibañez and Ivan Toney, but each time Ittihad responded - first through Moussa Diaby and then, in the game's closing moments, through Karim Benzema.
Host Ahli dominated the match but despite twice going ahead, succumbed to the Ittihad captain's late equalizer.
Ibañez put Ahli in front just after half-time, meeting Riyad Mahrez's left-wing corner with a powerful header; it was the Brazilian defender's second Pro League goal of the season. Ittihad stayed in the game, however, and French winger Diaby leveled things up for the visitor with a calm low finish after team-mate Fabinho had broken up play in midfield. Ahli went 2-1 up as Ivan Toney capitalized on a rare misstep from N'Golo Kante inside the Ittihad penalty area - diverting the ball home to the joy of most of the 60,000 fans at a packed King Abdullah Sports City.
But once again, Ittihad bit back. In the 94th minute, Benzema stole in at the back post to convert Abdulelah Al-Amri's excellent cross. The Frenchman's 17th Pro League of the season could prove a crucial moment in the title race, underscoring his reputation as a decisive player for Blanc's side. Even with shaky recent form, the destination of the title is still firmly in Ittihad's hands, while Ahli is in the midst of its own fight - for either third or fourth place, and with it qualification for Asian competition next season.
Ronaldo stars as Nassr wins Riyadh battle
Al Nassr secured a significant 3-1 victory over Al Hilal in the Riyadh Derby, with a goal from Ali Al-Hassan and two for Cristiano Ronaldo sealing the win. Al-Hassan opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time with a stunning long-range strike, followed by Ronaldo's powerful finish early in the second half, coming after a pinpoint assist from Sadio Mane.
Despite a response from Al Hilal's Ali Al-Bulayhi, whose second-half strike reduced the deficit, Ronaldo put the result beyond doubt in the 88th minute, converting a penalty after Hilal's goal scorer fouled Jhon Duran inside the box. This marked Ronaldo's 30th goal of the season in all competitions and puts Al Nassr clear of Al Qadsiah in third place in the Saudi Pro League table, leaving opponent Hilal with an uphill battle to overcome league leader Al Ittihad.
For Ronaldo, this win marked a personal milestone, as it was only his second victory in nine competitive games against Al Hilal. Ronaldo delivered when it mattered most for his team and now has 21 goals in the league - extending his lead in the Golden Boot race. His two-goal performance also propelled him into the Top 10 highest goal scorers in Saudi Pro League history, a remarkable achievement considering he reached 70 goals in just 72 appearances.
Qadsiah claims Dammam derby tie
Al Qadsiah showed a little bit of tiredness from its midweek King's Cup exploits as it was held to a 1-1 draw by Al Ettifaq in the second Dammam Derby of the season. Qadsiah completed a dramatic late win over Al Raed to reach its first ever King's Cup final on Wednesday and is still also pushing for AFC Champions League Elite qualification through the Saudi Pro League. Back in November, it was Qadsiah that won 2-0 away in the first meeting between the two Eastern rivals in three-and-a-half years; on Saturday, however, the spoils were shared.
Qadsiah right-back Mohammed Aboulshamat provided an assist for Julián Quiñones in the first Dammam Derby five months ago but went one better this time, scoring his first ever Saudi Pro League goal. The young right-back reacted quickest as Ettifaq Marek Rodák parried the ball into the penalty area, with Aboulshamat staying calm to finish straight back past the Slovakian shot-stopper on the stroke of half-time.
Ettifaq came out in the second half with renewed purpose and on 63 minutes, captain Georginio Wijnaldum headed home Vitinho's left-wing free-kick to level things up. Wijnaldum has been a goalscoring revelation for Ettifaq in recent months; having netted just once in the first 11 games of the season, the Dutch midfielder now has 10 in his last 14 Pro League matches. Saad Al-Shehri's side pushed for a winner but Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels produced a fine save to deny Alvaro Medran, with the 1-1 scoreline seeing the host drop two points behind Al Nassr in the battle for third place.
Best of the rest
Saviour Godwin lived up to his name for the second successive game as he scored another match-winning goal for Al Akhdoud in a 1-0 victory away at Al Orobah. Godwin struck in the 90th minute to help Akhdoud claim a smash-and-grab win at Al Ahli last week and the Nigerian winger was at it again on Saturday - his first-half goal good enough to lift his side out of the Saudi Pro League relegation zone.
Al Raed surrendered a half-time lead to lose 2-1 to Al Khaleej on Sunday and stay rooted to the bottom of the Saudi Pro League table. It completed a miserable week for Al Raed, which was defeated by Al Qadsiah in the King's Cup semi-final on Wednesday and has now lost 11 of its past 13 league matches. Karim El Berkaoui scored his second goal in as many games to put Al Raed ahead in the first-half, but his effort was in vain as Murad Al-Hawsawi equalized before Kostas Fourtounis claimed a 96th-minute winner for Khaleej.
Al Taawoun had the perfect preparation for its AFC Champions League 2 semi-final with a 2-0 win at Al Kholood. Taawoun takes on Sharjah on Tuesday for a spot in the final of Asia's secondary club competition and Mohammed Al-Abdali's side warmed up for the biggest game in the club's history with a comfortable 2-0 triumph. Second-half goals from Colombian attacker Roger Martinez and Moroccan midfielder Abdelhamid Sabiri handed Taawoun all three points at the expense of Kholood.
Elsewhere, Al Riyadh and Damac played out a 0-0 draw in the Saudi capital, as the former stayed four points ahead of the latter in the table, while Al Fayha and Al Fateh also settled for a point each in a 1-1 tie that did little side any favors in their battle to avoid demotion to the Saudi First Division. Fateh, currently in the relegation zone, took the lead through Amine Sbai but Renzo Lopez equalized for the host to deny its opponent a crucial win.
Al Shabab striker Abderrazak Hamdallah moved a step closer to usurping Omar Al-Somah as the Saudi Pro League's all-time leading scorer after netting his 147th goal in the competition in his team's 3-1 victory over struggling Al Wehda. Hamdallah's opening strike means he is now just three behind Al Somah on the all-time list and one behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the 2024-25 Pro League Golden Boot. Craig Goodwin equalized for Wehda in the second-half but further efforts from Mohamed Al Shwirekh and Haroune Camara handed Shabab the win.
