The Roshn Saudi League reached round eight over the weekend and that will be the last domestic action until after the World Cup as Herve Renard’s national squad head to the UAE for their final training camp ahead of Qatar 2022.
Here are five things we learned from the latest action.
1. Al-Ittihad show spirit to Nuno Santo
Will Sunday’s 1-0 win over Al-Wehda be the last in charge for Nuno Santo as his former club Wolverhampton Wanderers are sniffing around? The Jeddah club said that no official offer has been made so it remains to be seen. Whatever happens, the Portuguese boss will look back at the fighting spirit and determination shown by the Tigers with some pride.
On the stroke of halftime, they were reduced to 10 men as Abdulrahman Al-Obod collected a second yellow. At the time, the scoreline was 0-0 and it looked as if Al-Ittihad would be slipping further behind the leaders. It was a physical battle against the newly promoted team.
Last season Al-Ittihad may have lost this game but they just dug in and were determined to get something. They got the maximum return and it was no surprise that it came via a set piece as it has done more than once this season. It was a fantastic header from Ahmed Hegazi and it was enough to take three points and move the Jeddah club into third.
Now it just remains to be seen whether their coach stays. If so, then he has plenty of time to work with his players and make them even harder to beat. It could be an interesting season for Al-Ittihad.
2. Al-Shabab keeping the pressure on everyone else
The leaders defeated Al-Khaleej 4-0 on Saturday to move on to 22 points, which equals the club’s best-ever start. Seven wins and one draw, against Al-Hilal last week, is obviously a phenomenal platform from which to build a title challenge.
Fans and media focus on the big games against the big clubs but if you do not win against the so-called smaller sides then there is not going to be any championship. The fact that Al-Shabab keep winning puts pressure on their rivals at the top of the table. On Sunday, Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad knew that they could not afford to make mistakes as they needed to win to keep the leaders in sight.
It was an easy win for Al-Shabab as they took the lead after just two minutes and after that there was little doubt as to the end result. It remains to be seen what the two-month break will do to the team as they will want to keep playing and winning, but a good rest may set them up nicely for the next stage of the season.
3. Al-Hilal ride their luck
Al-Hilal won 3-2 at Al-Tai and will be very relieved at having done so. Sometimes the result is all that matters and that is certainly the case for the champions after they had collected just two points from the previous three games to pile the pressure on coach Ramon Diaz. A visit to Al-Tai is a tough proposition these days with the team going well but all seemed to be under control with Ighalo and the busy Michael putting the visitors two goals ahead early in the second half.
There had been some sloppiness in Al-Hilal’s play however with goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf almost gifting Guy Mbenza a goal in the first half.
The Congo striker took advantage of a mistake from Saud Abdulhamid to pull one back soon after. Then there was some more poor defending and it was suddenly all square. Diaz’s job was in danger but a corner in the 90th minute was not dealt with and there was Ali Al-Bulaihi to score the winner from close range. It could be a big three points but Al-Hilal will need to improve.
4. Al-Nassr finding their groove
Al-Nassr defeated Al-Feiha 4-0 at home with all the goals coming in the final 15 minutes and if there is one coach who will be frustrated with the World Cup break then it is Rudi Garcia. The Yellows have won five of the last six, with the 0-0 draw against Al-Ittihad the odd one out, scoring 17 goals and conceding just two, with goals coming from all around the team.
Luiz Gustavo was not signed for his ability to score — the midfielder managed just five in the last three seasons — but the Brazilian scored twice to take his tally for this campaign to four in just eight games. With Talisca also bagging a brace, the South Americans are really starting to make Al-Nassr look impressive going forward. This means that it is not a huge problem at the moment that Vincent Aboubaker is not scoring.
Gustavo has been impressive in midfield too and his recent partnership with Abdullah Al-Khaibari has really clicked and helped his side to 3-0, 4-1 and 4-0 wins in the past three games.
Al-Nassr have moved quietly into second place and are looking like real title challengers.
5. Damac and Al-Taawoun keep going
After eight games, the top four places are occupied by the big clubs but only just as Al-Taawoun, Damac and Al-Tai are picking up plenty of points.
Al-Taawoun beat Al-Ettifaq 1-0 to move on to an impressive 17 points from eight games. Last season they were in a relegation battle and depended on the goals of Leandre Tawamba to stay up. This time, the Cameroon striker has only managed two but that has not been a problem as others have chipped in as happened on Sunday, with Saad Al-Nasser getting the only goal of the game.
Damac are not far behind after beating Al-Adalah 2-0 to move up to sixth place, and given their fifth-place finish last season, there is no reason why they cannot repeat that feat this time around. With Al-Tai also going well, there are teams pushing the big four and improving the strength in depth in the league.