Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr experienced their first defeat of the campaign, falling 2-1 to Al Ittihad in a home loss that also marked manager Ange Postecoglou‘s first unbeaten streak coming to an end.
George Ilenikhena secured both goals for the hosts inside the opening 22 minutes, opening the scoring with a fourth-minute header and adding a composed left-footed finish after being set up by Houssem Aouar.
Angelo responded with a reply for Al Ittihad two minutes later, finishing from inside the box, but Al Nassr could not force an equalizer despite intensive pressure in the second half and six added minutes of stoppage time.
Ronaldo remained goalless in the defeat, missing several half-chances throughout the match. The loss ended Al Nassr‘s unbeaten run, which had elevated them to second place with 12 points from four fixtures prior to this encounter.
Ivan Toney Takes Commanding Lead in Goal Scoring
While Ronaldo and Al Nassr stumbled, Ivan Toney extended his exceptional start to the season for Al Ahli, scoring twice from the penalty spot in a dominant 5-0 victory over Al Riyadh.
Toney opened scoring in the 16th minute after Saad Balobaid was fouled in the box, then added his second penalty in the 61st minute. Al Ahli’s foreign contingent contributed four goals, with additional finds from Edward Sperfsyan, Francisco Trincao, and Naif Khaled Rashid Masoud.
Toney’s brace propelled him to the top of the Saudi Pro League scoring charts with 6 goals in five matches for Al Ahli. He leads Sergej Milinkovic-Savic of Al Hilal (4 goals) and a group including Ruben Neves, Alexandre Lacazette, and Angelo (3 goals each).
Ronaldo trails significantly with 2 goals for the season, now four goals behind Toney at the summit—a stark contrast to his dominance in previous Saudi Pro League campaigns.