We’re not quite at the halfway mark of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League, but as the league pauses for the mid-season break, it’s the perfect time to sit back and reflect on the opening 13 rounds.
So, going into this four-week pause, these are the major storylines that are already making the campaign one to remember. Check out the current state of play in the RSL.
We have ourselves a title race
After Al Hilal captured the title last season with more than a little cushion, the RSL champions are not having it all their own way this term.
After 13 matchweeks last season, Al Hilal had already put four points between them and second-placed Al Nassr, with Al Ahli a further five points back.
The script has been flipped this season, however, and now it’s Al Hilal playing the role of the hunter rather than the hunted after their defeat to Al Khaleej in matchweek 11 – their solitary loss this campaign - saw them cede top spot.
Instead, it’s Al Ittihad that lead the way, with an impressive 12 wins to start the season and just the one loss – ironically to Al Hilal – to give them a two-point buffer going into the break.
Rejuvenated by the injection of fresh blood, Laurent Blanc’s side are looking more like the team that stormed their way to the 2022-23 title than the one that stumbled in their title defence last season. As their eye-catching tifo proclaimed over the weekend, the “aura” has returned to the Jeddah giants.
The fans can feel it - and are more than playing their part with some incredible displays of support already this campaign, while the players can clearly sense it on the pitch as well. It’s in their smiles and in their body language.
Al Ittihad captain Karim Benzema looks like a player reborn – he has 10 league goals already, more than he netted all last season – ably supported by astute summer signings in Moussa Diaby, Houssem Aouar and Steven Bergwijn.
The latter arrived from Ajax in the off-season and hasn’t missed a beat since first pulling on the black and yellow, with four goals and four assists in 11 RSL appearances - none better than his stoppage-time winner against Al Nassr on Friday.
It ensured Al Ittihad’s place at the summit, although the previously imperious Al Hilal are keeping close. The next installment, then, of the Saudi Clasico, scheduled for the end of February, is shaping to be a title-deciding clash.
Chasing pack full of possibilities
With Al Qadsiah putting together a run of six straight wins up to the break, they cannot be completely ruled out should Al Ittihad or Al Hilal slip up upon resumption of the league. All it takes is one small slip from either side and a two-way title battle will quickly become a three-way race if the highly ambitious promoted Al Khobar club can keep their winning form going.
With so much turnover in the off-season it was always going to take time for Al Qadsiah to get going, but Michel’s side appear to be really hitting their straps. Headline signing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, promised goals when he arrived and, with three in his past four RSL appearances – and six for the season - he is staying true to his word.
At Al Nassr, two losses in their past three have dented their title chances, as they sit 11 points off top spot. However, with games to come against those above them, they still have the chance to play a decisive role in where the silverware goes this season.
Once again, it’s Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way at the club, with 10 goals for Stefano Piolo’s side, including four in his past three games. Can the mercurial forward, who turns 40 in the new year, drive his team back into contention?
Further back, while some may feel Al Ahli and Al Shabab are too far back to feature in the title race, that’s not the case when it comes to the highly-sought-after AFC Champions League Elite places.
The top three, or even top four depending on the winner of the King’s Cup, qualify for Asia’s top club competitions. So, with only five points separating Al Qadsiah in third and Al Shabab in sixth, the heat is very much on for those coveted spots.
Unheralded teams make name for themselves
Every season the RSL throws up a surprise or two. Last term, it was Al Taawoun, who ended up in fourth ahead of Al Ittihad, the league’s defending champions.
This season, it’s the form of both Al Riyadh and Al Khaleej, who both sit just outside the top six but only a win or two from breaking in. In fact, go back a few weeks and Al Khaleej were sitting in sixth after four straight victories, including a remarkable 3-2 win over undefeated Al Hilal - although back-to-back losses has dropped them back down to eighth.
But the team from the Eastern Province, led by Georgios Donis and propelled by a purple patch of goalscoring by striker Abdullah Al Salem, have shone in the opening 13 rounds, giving themselves a platform from which to launch in the back half of the campaign.
The same is true of Al Riyadh, who had an impressive off-season in which they snared accomplished French tactician Sabri Lamouchi to spearhead the side, while also prising the impressive duo of Toze and Bernard Mensah away from relegated sides Al Hazem and Al Tai, respectively.
Winning almost half their games so far this season, their most notable triumph win came back in Matchweek 6 at the beginning of October, when they took all three points off Al Qadsiah in a 2-1 victory. It has helped Al Riyadh up to seventh – four points off the top four.
Can Al Ettifaq turn their form around?
Al Ettifaq arrived at the break having snapped a lengthy sequence of poor results, the much-needed 2-1 win at Al Khaleej in their final fixture bringing to an end a run of nine RSL matches without victory. So, could it act as a catalyst for Al Ettifaq to turn around their form in the back half of the season?
That will be the hope of manager Steven Gerrard, who has endured a torrid few months with his side winless in almost three months from September to December. The season had started so brightly, with success against Al Shabab, Al Okhdood and Al Fateh in the opening three games to lift Al Ettifaq up to third in the table in mid-September.
But that nine-game streak looked to have crippled their campaign, seeing Al Ettifaq drop as low as 14th. Yet the win against Al Khaleej on Saturday, courtesy of Abdullah Radif’s spectacular bicycle kick late on, has hoisted them back up to 11th.
However, Al Ettifaq remain eight points behind the top six – they finished sixth last season – and, given their start to the season, they’ll be left wondering how it happened. The weekend win stopped the rot – and just in time for the club, and their driven manager to regroup and rest. Will it be enough to flip their fortunes?
Managerial changes could shape relegation battle
There might still be almost two-thirds of the season remaining, but there are already teams under pressure to avoid the drop given their starts.
The three sides in the relegation zone as it stands - Al Wehda, Al Fayha, and Al Fateh - have all made recent changes to their managers in the hope of salvaging their respective seasons.
In the past fortnight, Al Wehda have turned to former coach Jose Daniel Carreno to spearhead their revival, while Al Fayha parted ways with Christos Kontis and Al Fateh with Jens Gustafsson after incredibly disappointing starts. Al Wehda had only two wins from 12, with Al Fayha and Al Fateh each victorious only once. The latter two clubs are yet to name a full-time successor.
However, the good news for those three is that, heading into the break, only nine points separate 10 from 18th, so there is more than enough scope to turn things around in the final 21 matches of the campaign.
The mid-season hiatus is thus the perfect opportunity to become familiar with new coaching principles and then rally and, with the January transfer window on the horizon, perhaps even refresh the squad.
For the bottom three, getting those managerial appointments right – and at the opportune time – could prove decisive in determining their respective fates come the conclusion of the season.
