RIYADH: Thursday marked the long-awaited return of the Saudi Pro League after a 23-day break due to the national team’s participation at the 2025 Arab Cup.
What appeared to be a night short on goals — following a goalless draw between Al-Fayha and Al-Hazem earlier in the day — dramatically shifted after four were scored after the 89th minute across the fixtures.
Al-Ettifaq — city rivals of Brendan Rodgers’ new side, Al-Qadsiah — faced Al-Riyadh, looking to strengthen their position in the upper mid-table, and ultimately emerged from the capital with a 2-0 win.
However, the contest proved far from straightforward against the relegation battlers, with Moussa Dembele unable to rediscover his scoring touch despite netting a brace in his last outing.
Al-Ettifaq, enjoying most of the possession, struggled to find their way past Al-Riyadh goalkeeper Milan Borjan, who produced six saves to keep his side in the contest.
Al-Riyadh were pushed deep for much of the second half, largely due to being reduced to 10 men following Mohammed Al-Khaibari’s dismissal after a professional foul.
The visitors’ persistence finally paid off in injury time, with goals from Francisco Calvo and Georginio Wijnaldum securing a dramatic victory to give Al-Ettifaq the valuable three points, lifting them to seventh place on 15 points, after 10 matches.
Sitting just ahead of them in sixth are Neom, who remain two points clear after surviving a late scare against Al-Najma to claim a 2-1 home victory.
In the battle between two newly-promoted teams — one in the top six and the other at the rear end of the table — Neom appeared to be cruising after center-back Nathan Zeze scored his first goal for the club in the 54th minute, before Khalifah Al-Dawsari doubled the lead in the 89th minute.
However, the match took an intense turn when Al-Najma were awarded a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time, converted by Bilal Boutobba.
As Saudi Arabia’s former captain Salman Al-Faraj returned for the first time in 400 days, Al-Najma thought they grabbed a late equalizer — only for Faisal Al-Mutairi’s effort to be ruled offside. The result condemned Al-Najma to their ninth defeat of the season.
Action continues on Friday with Al-Fateh hosting Al-Ahli in the Eastern Province at 4 p.m. local time, Al-Kholood face Al-Taawoun at 6 p.m., and Al-Hilal welcome Al-Khaleej in Riyadh at 8:30 p.m.
