RIYADH: Matchday 28 of the Saudi Pro League commenced on Thursday, just one day after the 29th matchday kicked off, due to delays caused by the AFC Champions League Elite Knockout Stages following the outbreak of the war.
Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli — all participating in the competition that resumes in Jeddah next week — will see their games against Al-Khaleej, Al-Shabab and Al-Fateh, respectively, postponed to a later date.
That did not stop Al-Nassr from breathing another sigh of relief. Al-Qadsiah have dropped points for a second time since the international break, signalling what may be the end of their title charge, especially if Al-Nassr defeat Al-Okhdood later this weekend to extend their lead over Brendan Rodgers’ side to 12 points.
Al-Qadsiah, who looked a shadow of the side that defeated Al-Ahli last month, were held to a 1-1 draw with relegation-battling Damac.
Julian Quiñones and Mateo Retegui failed to conjure the threat they usually pose as arguably the league’s most dangerous attacking duo, and it was up to Nahitan Nández to open the scoring in the 35th minute.
The Uruguayan found rare space in front of the Damac defence to receive Christopher Bonsu Baah’s cutback before striking past Kewin for the opener.
Unfortunately for Nández, it was his positioning that contributed to Damac’s response just two minutes later. The hosts found space in front of the Al-Qadsiah box that Julian Weigl — who missed this match — would usually cover.
Valentin Vada capitalised, firing a crisp finish past Koen Casteels for his 10th goal of the season with the Knights of the South.
In the second half, Damac adjusted to a back five, preventing Al-Qadsiah from mounting their usual late surge and holding them to a valuable 1-1 draw.
Later in the night, Al-Ettifaq hosted Al-Riyadh at EGO Stadium. Fresh from the victory that ended Rodgers’ unbeaten run with Al-Qadsiah earlier this week, Al-Ettifaq struck early.
In the fifth minute, Álvaro Medrán found Moussa Dembélé with a precise through ball before the Frenchman squared it for Georginio Wijnaldum to finish.
Arguably Saudi Arabia’s standout local player this season, Khalid Al-Ghannam extended the hosts’ lead in the 33rd minute when he met Wijnaldum’s lofted ball, dribbled past Marzouq Tambakti and finished past Milan Borjan.
Prior to Al-Ettifaq’s second, Al-Riyadh had begun to grow into the game. Their strategy was simple: release Teddy Okou down the right flank to beat his marker and find star winter signing Leandro Antunes in the box.
Antunes had two dangerous attempts — one drifting just wide and the other forcing a strong save from Marek Rodák. Minutes after Al-Riyadh went 2-0 down, Antunes found his rhythm.
In the 38th minute, he won the ball off Ondřej Duda on the edge of Al-Ettifaq’s box before curling a shot into the far corner to pull one back for the visitors.
On the other side of half-time, the Okou-Antunes combination finally clicked for a goal. The winger beat Radhi Al-Otaibi before delivering a dipping cross into the six-yard box, where Antunes slid in behind Abdulbasit Hindi to level the score in the 54th minute.
Al-Riyadh knew victory would be crucial on the night, as it would move them level on points with Damac on the edge of the relegation zone.
After the Okou-Antunes duo exited the pitch late in the game, making way for the duo of Essam Bahri and Mamadou Sylla, Al-Ettifaq may have thought the threat had passed.
However, a powerful run deep into stoppage time from Bahri allowed him to deliver a cross to Sylla, who scored the decisive winner for Al-Riyadh and secure a 3-2 victory.
With these results, Damac and Al-Riyadh are now level on points in the relegation zone, with 23 apiece. Al-Ettifaq’s hopes of breaking into the top five will have to wait after their defeat, while Al-Qadsiah’s focus shifts to securing third place and an AFC Champions League Elite spot, which they currently sit five points behind.
