Made in RSL: Al Sahafi creates history in Belgium

Youngster Marwan Al Sahafi bagged a brace on Friday as Beerschot stunned giants Anderlecht 2-1 in the Belgian Pro League, marking both the first time a Saudi Arabian player has scored in the competition's history and the first-ever double by a Saudi in a prominent European league.

A graduate of Al Ittihad youth set-up, the 20-year-old winger and club teammate Faisal Al Ghamdi made a loan move to the Belgian side ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, becoming the first pair from the Kingdom to play in the competition.

Encouraging performances against Royal Antwerp and KVC Westerlo demonstrated the qualities of rising starlet Al Sahafi, but it was his third appearance in his new club colours that drew attention from fans and media.

On Friday, Al Sahafi showed his quick feet in both goals, first cutting inside from the right flank and drilling home with his weaker left foot into the near bottom corner to open the scoring at the half-hour mark.

On 70 minutes, and after Anderlecht had equalised, the Jeddah-born attacker then embarked on a mazy run into the visitors' penalty area before collecting a teammate's pass to slot home the winner. Al Ghamdi, also making his third appearance for the club, was one of the first to congratulate his compatriot.

The win was particularly impressive given Beerschot had been winless in 10 matches since the start of the season and sat bottom of the table, while Anderlecht had lost once in 10 and were within touching distance of the top of the league.

The history-making feat represented another milestone moment in Al Sahafi's burgeoning career. He made his Roshn Saudi League debut in July 2022, coming on as a late substitute in Al Itithad's 2-1 win over Al Fateh, and went on to register seven appearances in the 2022-23 season.

The following campaign, Al Sahafi established himself as a regular for the Jeddah heavyweights, making 20 appearances and getting his debut RSL goal in a 3-1 victory against Al Fayha in March. His second Saudi top-flight goal arrived two months later, in the 4-1 win at home to Damac.

For sure, Al Sahafi has enjoyed a few days to remember this week: on Tuesday, he made his first start for the Saudi national team, in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Bahrain.