If you wanted another cast-iron example of the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League’s ability to amaze, then Matchweek 17 was the perfect round to underscore that.
From the top two both losing to dramatic injury-time winners, a couple of promoted sides thriving, and the return of an RSL all-timer, it did not fail to entertain.
Title race blown wide open
Al Ittihad lost 2-1 at Damac on Monday evening, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou striking in injury-time, and suddenly the advantage at the top of the table was handed to Al Hilal.
Then, hours later in Dammam, the league leaders and current champions were beaten at Al Qadsiah by the same scoreline. Again, it was a late, late blow, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netting in the 93rd minute to consign Al Hilal to a second defeat of the season.
Once more, Al Hilal and Al Ittihad concluded a matchweek locked at the summit on 43 points, the former above the latter purely on goal difference. However, at the official halfway point of the 2024-25 season, a seemingly two-horse race has expanded to a conceivable four.
With the win, a first-ever against Al Hilal in the league from 17 attempts, Al Qadsiah reclaimed third spot but, crucially, moved to within six points of their now-rivals for the championship. The promoted club are delivering on their substantial summer investment - and in spectacular fashion.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Cristiano Ronaldo helped Al Nassr to a 3-1 victory at home to bottom side Al Fateh, meaning that, despite last term’s runners-up ending the round back in fourth, they have pulled closer to the top. As it stands, they are eight points back.
So, with 50 percent of the campaign complete, the title race has taken a significant twist. Bring on the second half.
Auba putting on a show
When Aubameyang arrived in the RSL in the summer, he made no secret of the impact he planned on having. In his first interview as an Al Qadsiah player, the celebrated striker sent out a message to the club’s fans.
“I can't wait to see them, and I will try to give them some goals and obviously some show,” Aubameyang said. “Because I'm a showman; I think everyone knows that.”
He has certainly done that. In fact, there has been no greater display of his penchant for a performance than his last-gasp heroics against Al Hilal.
Aubameyang bookended his team’s incredible victory by notching his first of the night with barely a minute on the clock, then saved his best for last. Deep into injury-time, he collected Julian Quinones’ brilliant through-ball, controlled expertly and, with the imposing Yassine Bono to beat, finished beautifully past the RSL’s reigning Goalkeeper of the Season.
The fervent celebrations that followed were warranted. Al Qadsiah had burst into the title race, spearheaded by Aubameyang, who now has nine goals in 16 RSL appearances. What a debut season for the former Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal and Barcelona frontman. Not just that - as he declared as the ink dried on his Al Qadsiah contract - he is evidently a showman, too.
N’Koudou a diamond at Damac
Not to be outdone, there was another double scored on Monday to see off title challengers, this time in the form of the in-form Georges-Kevin N’Koudou. The Damac forward was the main man in his side’s fantastic home victory against Al Ittihad in which he bagged a brace and continued to shine bright as one of the RSL’s leading lights.
First, the Cameroon international opened the scoring on 17 minutes with an unstoppable drive from outside the visitors’ penalty area that left goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic rooted to the spot.
The Al Ittihad No.1 could do little, also, about N’Koudou’s second, albeit the strike from outside the area did take a hefty deflection off defender Saad Al Mousa on its way into the net. The time? Just the 94th minute.
With the last-gasp triumph, Damac returned to 10th in the standings and remain eight points off Al Shabab in sixth. If Nuno Almeida’s new side are to mount a top-six challenge, N’Koudou will no doubt be central to that.
To deepen the motivation, there could be individual honours at stake also: he now has 10 RSL goals this season, meaning he is four behind frontrunner Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the golden boot.
Ben Zekri has Al Kholood purring
When Noureddine Ben Zekri was appointed at Al Kholood in October, the RSL debutants languished in the relegation zone. Through the opening six rounds of the season, they had suffered four defeats and picked up a solitary win.
Now, following Saturday’s 2-1 victory at home to Al Raed, Al Kholood are up to 11th in the table. Four points separate the RSL new boys and the top half.
What a turnaround it has been since Ben Zekri replaced Paulo Duarte, with the colourful Algerian masterminding a run of four wins in the past six league matches. That sequence includes back-to-back successes at Al Ettifaq and at home to Al Ahli, the latter snapping the Jeddah giants' five-game winning streak.
On Saturday, Al Kholood rebounded from Amir Sayoud’s first-half opener to completely flip the encounter after the interval. Muhammad Sawan drew the hosts level just after the hour mark, providing the platform for former Al Ahly midfielder Aliou Dieng to snatch all three points three minutes from time.
Ben Zekri, the so-called Saudi top-flight survival specialist, has worked wonders in such a short space of time. Stave off relegation, and even deliver Al Kholood a lofty finish, and perhaps he’ll break out that iconic celebration once more.
Al Somah returns but draws blank
Sunday saw an RSL legend back in competitive action in the Saudi top flight, when Omar Al Somah made his Al Orobah debut at Al Taawoun.
The Syrian, a headline recruit this transfer window, brings considerable star power to Al Jouf, since he resides as the league’s all-time top scorer, a status secured during eight seasons at Al Ahli in which Al Somah plundered 144 goals.
In Buraidah at the weekend, the fearsome forward played the entire match but didn’t get on the scoresheet – although, not through the lack of trying. Early in the second half, Al Somah stung the finger tips of Al Taawoun goalkeeper Abdulquddus Atiah with a long-range free-kick that rattled the crossbar, while he was heavily involved in Al Orobah’s overall attacking play.
Al Somah’s failure to find the net might have disappointed himself and his new employers, but one person likely not to mind would be Abderrazak Hamdallah.
The Al Shabab marksman, second on the all-time scoring list, responded to Al Somah's blank by grabbing a brace on Monday in a 2-1 win for Fatih Terim’s side against Al Fayha. As such, he climbed to within seven goals of Al Somah’s historic haul.
