We continue to follow the championship of Saudi Arabia, which by name is now not inferior to many of the best European leagues. The other day the games of the 2nd day were played -we will tell you what happened there-.
How was the first round?
Malcolm and Firmino started with hat-tricks, while Gerrard has a comeback. Beginning of the Saudi League – Space
Incredible savings at 90+10 minutes
It seemed to be a completely ordinary match. Damak and Riyadh play without stars. But it was they who gave one of the coolest anecdotes of the entire tour. Riyadh, playing away, scored twice in the first half and went on to their second win in as many rounds. But the second half began with Damak’s goal, and at minute 90+10 (!) the score became 2:2.
Interestingly, the same players scored goals for both teams. In Riyadh, Saleh Al-Abbas scored twice, in Damak – Abdullah Khalid Al-Ammar.
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New stars drag Al-Ahli
On matchday 1, the hero was Roberto Firmino, who scored a hat-trick. Bobby wasn’t on the field this time, but Al-Ahly managed without him. Because other stars lit up!
In the ninth minute, former Roma defender Roger Ibáñez scored, Riyad Mahrez closed the cross in the added time of the first half, and in the 90+11 minute, when the score was 2-1 in favor of Al-Ahly, the Loan of former “Newcastle” winger Allan Saint-Maximin was beautifully converted into an assist by Saudi striker Sumaykhan Al-Nabit.
The rights of the video belong to the UAFA. You can watch the video on Al-Ahli’s YouTube channel.
Al-Ahli is one of the three members of the Saudi League, which has not lost a single point in the new season. Taking into account additional indicators, the team ranks second.
The former Barcelona footballer organized his team’s comeback
Do you remember Christian Tello? The Barca youth squad started under the orders of Pep Guardiola, rolled on loan and looked good at Betis. Last year, the winger went to the United States, but in six months he played just five games for Los Angeles and went to Saudi Arabia.
It was Tello who became the hero of the match in which his Al-Fateh defeated Al-Ohdud on the road. The locals scored first halfway through the first half, but then Christian joined. At 13 minutes he gave an assist, leveled the score just before the break, and at minute 90+2 he ended it with a brace. The last goal turned out to be especially teasing: Tello caught the ball on the fly, caught the running goalie, stopped, and reluctantly rolled the ball into an empty net.
The rights of the video belong to the UAFA. You can watch the video on the Esporte na Band YouTube channel.
Surprising defeat of the Banega team
Ever Banega played for Valencia, Sevilla and Inter, and has been playing in Saudi Arabia for Al-Shabab for the last three years. On the second day of the championship, the Argentine became one of the culprits for the defeat of his team.
At minute 27, with the score 0:0, Banega missed the penalty. The Al-Wahda players took advantage of a misfire and, at the end of the first half, delivered two goals to the opponent (minutes 45 and 45+3). Al-Shabaab’s new chance came in the 89th minute, but the second penalty was not taken either. Right, not Banega, but Khabib Diallo. Al-Shabab finally pushed the ball into the goal only in the 90+5 minute, but two minutes later they missed the third.
always banega
Photo: alshabab-sc.sa
The former CSKA player gave victory to Gerrard
Al-Ittifaq, led by Steven Gerrard, played with Al-Hazm. Feats in the Liverpool legends team are expected from Moussa Dembele and Jordan Henderson, but in this match another player reminded himself. Vitinho, who played for CSKA in the 2010s, put together a set: an assist in the 17th minute and a goal in the 52nd. “Al-Hazm” turned out to have nothing to answer for.
Al-Ittifaq started the season perfectly – in the first round there was still a victory over Al-Nasr. Gerrard’s team is now third in the table. “Al-Hazm” remains without points.
vitinho
Photo: ettifaq.com
The second consecutive failure of the star “Al-Nasr”
Gerrard’s loss to Al-Ittifaq in the first round was just the beginning. In the second round home match with Al-Taawun, Al-Nasr came out in the fighting lineup: Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Anderson Taliska, Marcelo Brozovic, only Alex Telles was missing. And even that didn’t help! Ronaldo never scored a goal, but Al-Taawun scored twice: in the 20th minute and 90+6.
The championship table now looks a bit absurd. Al-Nasr, who has one of the strongest teams in the entire league, ranks 15th! And that’s only because the three teams in the relegation zone perform even worse. Al-Taawun, without expensive stars, rose to the seventh line.
The first victory of “Abhi” thanks to the former player of “Lokomotiv”
Abha has an interesting composition overall. Ciprian Teterushanu plays at the door, who until recently was quoted in Milan, and former Lokomotiv footballers work upstairs. Grzegorz Krychowiak plays in midfield and Francois Camano in attack. The latter became the hero of the match together with the modest Al-Raed, giving an assist to the only goal in the 57th minute.
For Abha, this victory is the first of the season. The team is in the middle of the table, in tenth place. “Al-Raed” is gradually getting stuck in the relegation zone.
Francois Camano
Photo: From Francois Camano’s personal archive
Former Spartak footballer stopped Malcolm’s powerful team
He lost points in this round, not just Al-Nasr. His rival in the Al-Hilal Arab Champions Cup final also stumbled. The team’s super debutant Neymar did not enter the field, but there were still enough stars – Malcolm, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves.
Although the match between Zenit and Spartak was played far away and only the next day, a part of this confrontation also permeated the match between Al-Hilal and Al-Feiha. Malcolm played for the favourite, Fashion Sakala played for the outsider. And the former Spartacus was a hero again! In the first round, he had a goal + assist, this time only a goal in the 15th minute. “Al-Hilal” recovered after five minutes, but could not squeeze the opponent. Draw!
Benzema failed again, but Al-Ittihad won
He closed the “Al-Ittihad” tour. Unlike Al-Nasr, this team remains flawless. In the first round Al-Raed won, now they have faced Al-Tai. The bill included all the main stars: Karim Benzema, Fabinho and N’Golo Kante. But the goals were built by other players.
Al-Ittihad leads the Saudi Arabian league. Six points out of six possible, the best goal difference (5-0). So you can compete for the title!
How transfers work in Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabian clubs do not choose their stars. Prince manages all league transfers
