Al-Hilal win to keep in touch at the top

Al-Hilal's Mohamed Kanno in action with Al-Taawoun's Mohammed Mahzariat the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Buraidah on March 15, 2025. (REUTERS)
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Updated 16 March 2025
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Al-Hilal win to keep in touch at the top

  • The result means that Al-Ittihad, who left it late to defeat Al-Riyadh 2-1 on Thursday, are top with 61 points while Al-Hilal are in second with 57

Al-Hilal won 2-0 at Al-Taawoun on Saturday to cut Al-Ittihad’s lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League back to four points. 

Both Hilal and Taawoun had enjoyed success in Asian competitions during the week, and returned home to play out a hard-fought clash in Buraidah.  The champions' form in the league may have been patchy of late but they bounced back to return to winning ways with a strong performance. 




Al Hilal's Malcom in action with Al-Taawoun's Muteb Al Mufarrij during the Al-Hilal vs. Al-Taawoun match at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Buraidah on March 15, 2025. (REUTERS)
 

There were only 12 minutes on the clock when Mohamed Kanno put the defending champions ahead. Salem Al Dawsari swung over a corner from the left which was met by the midfielder who directed his header home.

Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou made a number of saves to maintain the champions’ lead though the Riyadh giants had, and missed, plenty of opportunities, but then with a quarter of an hour remaining, Marcos Leonardo added a second to seal the win.

Hamad Al Yami floated over a deep cross for the in-form Brazilian to head home for his 17th league goal of the season, just two behind top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.

The result means that Al-Ittihad, who left it late to defeat Al-Riyadh 2-1 on Thursday, are top with 61 points while Al-Hilal are in second with 57. 

Al-Ahli also won in Asia in midweek but came home to lose 2-1 at Al-Okhdood to stay in fifth behind Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah.

The Jeddah club have been in fine form of late and were full of confidence and took the lead just before the half hour thanks to an own goal from Damion Lowe.




Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus before his team's clash with Al-Taawoun on March 15, 2025. (REUTERS)

It was all looking good for the Greens until the 95th minute when the hosts equalised through Saleh Al-Abbas. There was still time for it to get worse for Al-Ahli as Godwin Saviour struck to win the game for the relegation-threatened Al-Okhdood 

Al Ahli’s shock defeat means that they are in fifth in the table, on 48 points, three behind Al-Qadsiah and Al-Nassr. Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad are, however, out in front.


Coach Stefano Pioli confident as Al-Nassr prepare for AFC Champions League Elite semi showdown

Updated 29 April 2025
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Coach Stefano Pioli confident as Al-Nassr prepare for AFC Champions League Elite semi showdown

  • Riyadh giant Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semifinals
  • Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday

JEDDAH: Al-Nassr coach Stefano Pioli declared his side injury-free ahead of Wednesday’s Asian Champions League Elite semifinal against Kawasaki Frontale in Jeddah as the Saudi Pro League side look to reach the final for the first time in almost 30 years.
The Riyadh-based outfit last made the decider in 1995, but a brace from Jhon Duran and strikes by Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo sealed a 4-1 win over Yokohama F Marinos on Saturday to move the Saudi side to the cusp of a first title.
“We are ready for the match, but in training we will decide which group is going to play,” Pioli said. “The team is ready to play the game with great spirit, high performance.”
Al-Nassr are one of three Saudi Pro League sides in the semifinals, the first time a single nation has dominated the latter stages of the competition to such an extent.
The huge injection of cash into the country’s leading clubs by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in 2023 which prompted the signing of numerous high-profile players from around the world is having a major impact on this year’s competition.
Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli have also advanced to the last four and will meet on Tuesday.
Japan’s Kawasaki are the only team from their half of the confederation left in the competition after their win over Qatar’s Al-Sadd, and the J-League side have been further disadvantaged by having one day less to recover than Al-Nassr.
Frontale needed extra-time to defeat Felix Sanchez’s side and coach Shigetoshi Hasebe admitted he was concerned about his players’ lack of freshness ahead of the Al-Nassr clash.
“All the players are tired because they played for 120 minutes, which is very difficult for us,” he said. “But we’ll be playing in a different stadium, so we can have a new feeling and I can imagine the players will play very well tomorrow night.”
Kawasaki midfielder Kento Tachibanada stressed it was important not to obsess over the reputations of their opponents.
“The key point is not to be afraid of the famous players and their big names,” he said. “Many people think the teams from Saudi will win, but I want to break that type of image tomorrow night.”


Five things to look out for at the AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals in Jeddah

Updated 28 April 2025
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Five things to look out for at the AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals in Jeddah

  • Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli face off in an all-Saudi clash on Tuesday, while Al-Nassr take on Kawasaki Frontale of Japan the following day

LONDON: Three Saudi Arabian teams entered the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite in Jeddah, and all three progressed to the last four. On Tuesday, Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal meet in the first semi-final while, 24 hours later, Al-Nassr take on Kawasaki Frontale of Japan. Here are five things to look out for as the continent’s premier club competition reaches its climax.

Al-Dawsari the main man for Al-Hilal

The headlines wrote themselves after Al-Hilal thrashed Gwangju FC 7-0 on Friday. A team that had looked uncharacteristically shaky on the home front was suddenly back to doing its favorite thing, winning big in big Asian games.

Coach Jorge Jesus would have been delighted with the fact that all seven goals against the South Koreans were scored by different players. Perhaps the best was Salem Al-Dawsari’s effort as he moved to nine goals for the tournament so far. That is an incredible effort for a player who is not a striker and is surrounded by players who love nothing more than to get on the scoresheet.

So for all the famous foreign talent, it is a very familiar face that Al-Ahli will have to be wary of on Tuesday. Al-Dawsari is in some of the best form of an exceptional career. He will take some stopping and, on Friday’s evidence, so will Al-Hilal.

Recent Ahli win means nothing but Firmino on fire

“Bring on Al-Hilal” chanted the Al-Ahli fans as their team defeated Buriram United 3-0 on Saturday.

Understandably so. It was just a few weeks ago that Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick to give the Greens a famous 3-2 win over the Blues in Riyadh. That will give the Jeddah giants confidence but will not actually mean that much when the two teams take the pitch in Jeddah. Beating Al-Hilal once a season is not easy, twice is special.

Yet Al-Hilal will know that they lost to a team without Roberto Firmino because the former Liverpool star is not registered for the Saudi Pro League. The Brazilian took out the frustration of prolonged inactivity on Buriram on Saturday with a top-class display of attacking vision, creativity and no small goal threat.

It has been a mixed season for “Bobby” but if he can down Al-Hilal and take Al-Ahli to a third final and a first title then his status as club legend will be assured.

Al-Nassr look to Ronaldo to make it an all-Saudi final

Al-Nassr made short work of Yokohama F. Marinos, winning 4-1 against the Japanese team. The only downside was the late goal conceded.

To be honest, Stefano Pioli’s men were not tested too much and swept aside the visitors in waves of attacks in the first half. Jhon Duran scored twice and his cutting edge will be needed in the next game. Yokohama are bottom of the J. League and were poor defensively. Kawasaki Frontale will not be quite as generous.

The pressure is on the Yellows. They have never been Asian champions. If they lose here then the season is almost over given that they are eight points behind an Al-Ittihad team that is resting and recovering while its title rivals are playing in Asia.

The likes of Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte have won big prizes but none more so than Cristiano Ronaldo. His experience and leadership will be crucial. Losing at the semi-final stage is always painful but will be especially so with the knowledge that there is a Saudi Arabian rival waiting.

Kawasaki ready to learn from other easterners

The Japanese team have underachieved in Asia in their past 10 appearances but eventually made it to the semi-finals for the first time on Sunday with a 3-2 win over Al-Sadd. After three disappointing results from East Asian teams in the previous two days, it is good for the competition that there is a representative from the other side of the continent.

Kawasaki are up against it. Al-Nassr have had an extra day’s rest and the Japanese team had to go into extra-time. Al-Nassr have the home support too. Yet all that means there is little pressure on the four-time J. League champions.

In the other three quarterfinals, all the Saudi Arabian teams scored early and the games were soon over. Kawasaki will be determined not to make the same mistakes. If they can keep it tight then the tension and frustration may grow.

It is not the first all-Saudi Champions League semi-final

This is the first time in the tournament’s history that three teams from one country are in the last four. The Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli semi-final is not, however, the first time that Saudi Arabian teams have met at this stage.

In 2012 there was the Jeddah derby. Al-Ittihad defeated their local rivals Al-Ahli 1-0 thanks to Naif Hazazi. The second leg was at the same Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium. Al-Ittihad were ready to get to another final but ended up losing 2-0. Moataz Al-Mousa scored just before the break and then, as extra-time loomed, Victor Simoes won it for the Greens who then lost 3-0 to Ulsan of South Korea in the final.

In 2021, it was time for the Riyadh derby, a one-legged affair. Moussa Marega put Al-Hilal ahead in the first half. Soon after the restart, Talisca equalized for Al-Nassr and then, with 20 minutes remaining, Salem Al-Dawsari struck to score one of the most famous goals of his career to send the Blues to the final where they went on to win a fourth crown.

He will be looking to do something similar on Tuesday.


Gwangju focused on Al-Hilal’s Saudi contingent in Champions League clash

Updated 24 April 2025
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Gwangju focused on Al-Hilal’s Saudi contingent in Champions League clash

  • Lee Jung-hyo: ‘We know the big name players, we know how they play. We have to keep an eye on Salem Al-Dawsari, Mohamed Kanno or Ali Al-Bulayhi’
  • Jung-hyo: ‘The game will last maybe 100 minutes and this is a showcase for us, to show to the world how we play’

JEDDAH: Al-Hilal’s foreign players have made the Saudi team one of the favorites to lift the Asian Champions League Elite title but Gwangju coach Lee Jung-hyo has his sights set on the club’s domestic contingent ahead of the quarter-finals on Friday.
The Riyadh-based outfit are aiming for a record-extending fifth continental title when the finals phase of this year’s competition begin in Jeddah with attention largely focused on the expensively acquired talent within Jorge Jesus’ side.
While Serbian duo Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have played key roles in a team of high-profile signings such as Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo, Lee believes the key to prevailing against Al-Hilal lies elsewhere.
“We have to take care of the Saudi Arabian players, their domestic players,” said Lee, who has led the South Korean club into the continental championship for the first time.
“We know the big name players, we know how they play. We have to keep an eye on Salem Al-Dawsari, Mohamed Kanno or Ali Al-Bulayhi. They’re the players who are the core of Al-Hilal. We have to take care of them.”
Gwangju go into the clash at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium as underdogs having already performed above expectations to reach the last eight.
After a series of impressive displays in the league phase, the Koreans battled back from a two-goal first-leg deficit to eliminate J-League champions Vissel Kobe in the previous round.
Gwangju’s Albanian winger Jasir Asani is the tournament’s leading scorer with nine goals and Lee knows his players will need to be switched on for the duration of the quarter-final if they are to prevail.
“Every minute, every second is going to be very precious for us,” he said. “The game will last maybe 100 minutes and this is a showcase for us, to show to the world how we play.
“Tomorrow’s game is do or die. One is going to win and one is going to die.”
Al-Hilal go into the clash in the middle of a stuttering run of form, prompting Jesus to temper the expectations of his club’s demanding supporters.
“We know that this team (Gwangju) is very strong, that they have had a good performance and good forward with good potential,” said the experienced Portuguese coach. “We will face a team that plays well in a collective way.
“We have watched the games they played before. We are aware of all the details of our opponent and we can say they are a strong team and that will make the match harder.”


Al-Qadsiah confident ahead of SPL showdown with Al-Khaleej in Dammam

Updated 23 April 2025
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Al-Qadsiah confident ahead of SPL showdown with Al-Khaleej in Dammam

  • Al-Qadsiah arrive in Dammam off the back of a 2-1 win over Al-Nassr
  • Teams have met five times before in the Pro League, with Qadsiah winning twice, Al-Khaleej once, and two matches drawn

RIYADH: Al-Qadsiah travel with confidence for their Saudi Pro League showdown with Al-Khaleej, today, 9pm, at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam.

Al-Qadsiah arrive in Dammam, for matchday 29 of the SPL, off the back of a 2-1 win over Al-Nassr, returning to winning ways after two draws against Al-Ittihad and Al-Ettifaq, and two losses to Al-Fayha and Damac.

Meanwhile, Al-Khaleej continue to drop points, suffering three defeats, against Al-Hilal, Al-Fateh, and Al-Wehda, in their last four matches, while accounting for Al-Raed.

The two teams have met five times before in the Pro League, with Qadsiah winning twice, Al-Khaleej once, and two matches ending in draws. Their most recent game, in matchday 12 of this season, ended in a 1-0 win for Qadsiah.

Qadsiah currently sit in fifth place with 55 points, tied with fourth-place Al-Ahli, and trail league leaders Al-Ittihad by 13 points. Al-Khaleej lie tenth with 33 points.


Ronaldo is rested and returning his attention to an Asian Champions League title

Updated 23 April 2025
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Ronaldo is rested and returning his attention to an Asian Champions League title

  • The Riyadh club, still yet to win a continental championship, is expected to progress to the last four
  • Nassr’s Riyadh rival Al-Hilal have won a record four Asian titles and play Friday against Gwangju FC

Cristiano Ronaldo has rested and now is returning his attention to winning his first major trophy in Saudi Arabia.

Despite breaking the Saudi Pro League’s scoring record last season with 35 goals and leading the standings in this campaign, the 40-year-old Ronaldo is yet to collect any silverware since signing for Al-Nassr in December 2022.

On Saturday, he’ll be leading Al-Nassr against Japan-based Yokohama F.Marinos in the Asian Champions League Elite quarterfinals.

The Riyadh club, still yet to win a continental championship, is expected to progress to the last four, particularly after Ronaldo was rested this week for Al-Nassr’s domestic league win over Damac.

Even without the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, coach Stefano Pioli has a star-studded roster at his disposal. It includes Jhon Duran, signed from Aston Villa in January for over $100 million, former Liverpool star Sadio Mane and Spanish international defender Aymeric Laporte.

Al-Nassr also have home advantage, as all playoff games are taking place in Jeddah along the Red Sea coast.

“We’re now fully focused on Asia,” Pioli said Tuesday. “We have been working hard to prepare for it and I’m satisfied with the performance of the players.”

Yokohama were beaten finalists last season but are struggling in last place in Japan’s domestic league after collecting just two points from the last seven games. The club last week fired Steve Holland, a former England national team assistant to Gareth Southgate, after just four months as coach.

“To fill the void,” the club said in a statement, Australian “Patrick Kisnorbo will serve as an interim manager for the time being.”

Nassr’s Riyadh rival Al-Hilal have won a record four Asian titles and play Friday against Gwangju FC, a South Korean club making its first appearance in the tournament.

Hilal were the best performers in the ACL group stage and, as it is unlikely to catch Al-Ittihad at the top of the Saudi Pro League, are focused on their bid for a fifth continental championship.

“The Asian Champions League is a personal dream for me, as I have not yet achieved it with the team,” Hilal coach Jorge Jesus said. “It is also a dream for the fans and the club president, and we will continue to play to win every match.”

Al-Ahli are the third contenders from Saudi Arabia, and the two-time finalists are determined to lift the trophy in their home stadium in Jeddah on May 3. First, though, they must win a quarterfinal against Thai powerhouse Buriram United.

The only one of the four ties not to feature a Saudi club takes place on Sunday when two-time champions Al-Sadd of Qatar take on Kawasaki Frontale, a Japanese club looking for a first title.