Al-Qadsiah Tops Saudi League... Al-Nassr Surpasses Neom

Al-Qadsiah reclaimed the top spot in the Saudi Pro League with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over hosts Al-Taawoun in the tenth round. Dutch international Tijjani Reijnders scored the match’s only goal in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

The win lifted Al-Qadsiah to 25 points, one point ahead of Al-Hilal, the runners-up of last season’s title race and winners over Al-Hazem 1-0, who have a match in hand. Al-Taawoun remained on four points, sitting in 17th place, second from bottom.

Portuguese midfielder Joao Felix guided Al-Nassr to a narrow victory over visitors Neom, scoring the winning goal in the 61st minute at King Abdullah Sports City (Al-Awwal Park) in Riyadh. Al-Nassr moved up to 22 points, while Neom stayed on 16.

Al-Nassr started brightly, with Senegal’s Sadio Mane firing a powerful shot wide of the post in the 21st minute. Felix tested Polish goalkeeper Marcin Bulka with a shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 32nd minute. Cristiano Ronaldo then missed a penalty, sending his effort wide of the post in the 45th minute plus six seconds.

Ronaldo continued his miss streak after receiving a perfectly weighted pass from Mane in the 48th minute, but his header sailed over the crossbar. Felix finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute, receiving the ball on the edge of the box and firing a strong shot into Bulka’s right-hand corner.

Neom nearly equalized in the 67th minute when Alexandre Lacazette’s header was tipped onto the post by Bulka. Al-Nassr missed a chance to double their lead in the 74th minute when Ronaldo had the ball in front of goal but shot wide of the post.

Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Ettifaq 4-1, with Nigerian George Echiéjilé scoring in the 17th minute, Algerian Houssem Aouar netting in the 53rd, and Moroccan Youssef El-Arabi adding two goals in the 80th and 85th minutes. Sultan Haroun scored Al-Ettifaq’s only goal in the 34th minute. Al-Ittihad moved to 20 points in fourth place, while Al-Ettifaq remained on 15 points in eighth.

Al-Diriyah secured a valuable 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh, with Spanish forward Oscar Rodriguez scoring in the 13th minute. Al-Diriyah climbed to 15 points in seventh place, while Al-Riyadh stayed on nine points in 12th.