DAMMAM: As we head into the final third of the 2025/26 Saudi Pro League campaign, it’s looking more likely that the deciding factor won’t be team finances, star signings or managerial strategies. Ultimately, it will all boil down to the referees.
With the delayed Matchday 10 now fully underway, Al-Hilal made the short trip to Qassim to face one of the season’s early dark horses, Al-Taawoun. Under Péricles Chamusca, who returned for his second stint at the club last summer, they’ve firmly positioned themselves as an upper mid-table side in the league.
After dropping points to 10-man Al-Ittihad last weekend, Al-Hilal returned to their position in the first half of the season: chasing Al-Nassr. While just one point behind their city rivals, Al-Hilal have a more difficult set of games in the upcoming period. Al-Nassr face Al-Najma on Wednesday, a side which have won just once in 22 games this season and sit dead last.
Al-Hilal weren’t helped by the fact that Karim Benzema was unavailable for this game. Out for a several matches, according to L'Équipe, with an adductor injury, Simone Inzaghi decided to use Marcos Leonardo.
Frozen out of team training after expressing his disdain at the club’s decision to not include him in the league squad as a regular player, the Brazilian’s return to the starting XI highlighted just how fragile the current squad rules are. On one day, you can be out of the club. A knock to an important player means you’re back in.
It was a game to forget for Marcos Leonardo, however. Besides seemingly being pulled down in the box by Mailson in first-half stoppage time, he barely threatened his countryman’s goal. The referee decided not to award a penalty.
Had he awarded that penalty, it would have been the third in nine minutes. In the 36th minute, Théo Hernández put his foot out to grab a ball in front of Mohammed Mahzari. The Frenchman was brought down in the process, leading to a VAR review.
Al-Hilal won the penalty, and Rúben Neves coolly converted to open the scoring. The video of the VAR decision quickly made the rounds on social media, with fans especially incensed after decisions that allegedly went in favour of Al-Ahli on Monday. Their opponents on the day, Damac, released an official statement citing their disdain at the refereeing decisions which they felt led to their defeat.
The penalty decisions wouldn’t stop at Hernández’s fall. Four minutes later, a Roger Martinez free-kick looked like it was on its way to goal, only for Sergej Milinković-Savić’s arm to block the ball’s trajectory. Another VAR review followed, with another penalty given. Martinez slotted it home to equalise before half-time.
Usually, Al-Hilal would deal with challenging opposition like Al-Taawoun by upping the tempo after the interval. This occasion was different. Al-Hilal looked out of sorts. They were positionally weak and lacked a decisive touch. They created chances, but this was not the Blues at their strongest.
Al-Taawoun deserve their fair share of praise. Chamusca’s traditional 5-4-1 saw greater freedom in the press, with a slower build-up preferred as opposed to previous outings. When pressed back, though, it quickly formed into a compact shape of at least nine players blocking key central areas.
Whereas in the game against Al-Okhdood — the evening where Benzema netted a debut hat-trick — the visitors were much better at breaking down the opposition block’s compactness. This time, Al-Taawoun would not grant the same level of freedom.
In stoppage time, Al-Hilal missed a golden chance that they may come to regret at the end of the season. Leonardo was released in space down the right and delivered a cross to Salem Al-Dawsari, who seemed set for a clear strik at goal. The ball flew past him as the game ended 1-1, adding further worry to Al-Hilal’s title challenge.
Elsewhere, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hazem played out a 1-1 draw in a game that saw Sérgio Conceição’s side struggle to take control. Muhannad Al-Shanqiti, who started on the bench, came on at half-time and changed the game — for better and for worse.
In the 80th minute, he broke into the opposition half and delivered a cross to Roger Fernandes, who unleashed a shot from outside of the box to score the opener. Four minutes later, he was beaten by Nawaf Al-Habashi on the counter, as he released Abdulaziz Al-Dhuwayhi to finish past Predrag Rajković.
Meanwhile, Ramiro Enrique continued his stellar season for Al-Kholood by scoring a brace against Al-Khaleej to increase his tally to 13 goals for the campaign. His goals were sandwiched between an early Paolo Fernandes strike in the second minute and an 87th-minute equaliser from Saleh Al-Amri. But Edgaras Utkus' dramatic winner 12 minutes into injury time gave Al-Kholood all the points.
Matchday 10 concludes on Wednesday, with Al-Fayha welcoming NEOM and Al-Najma hosting Al-Nassr at 10:00pm.
