When the Saudi Arabian football revolution began in the 2022-23 season, with the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, the expectation was that his club, Al-Nassr, would win the title. But it was Karim Benzema's Al-Ittihad that prevailed with 72 points against Nassr's 67. The next season, Nassr had to be content with second place yet again as Riyadh rivals Al-Hilal romped to the title with a 14-point margin.
Last season saw a closer contest. For a while, it was a three-horse race between Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Nassr. But, as the two Riyadh clubs stumbled, Ittihad stayed the course to win by eight points. This season, the Jeddah club's title defence has gone awfully wrong, and they currently languish in sixth place with just 38 points from 22 games. But that did not stop them from having a say on this season's title race.
When they turned up in Riyadh to play unbeaten league leaders Al-Hilal on Saturday night (12:30am IST), there was more tension in the air than usual. Benzema, who had lit up Jeddah since his move in 2023, had moved to Al-Hilal in January. And, this was the first time the Frenchman was coming up against his former club since that move. Ittihad were determined to deny Al-Hilal the result they needed. It was evident on the faces of the players at kick-off—they would make Benzema pay for ditching them. Five minutes later, Benzema played a delightful through-ball that led to a goal for Al-Hilal. Around four minutes after that, Ittihad got a red card, and it looked like that was that.
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But their predicament seemed to galvanise the Ittihad players, and they began defending with resolve and counterattacking with pace. However, just before half-time, some brilliant play by French left-back Theo Hernandez created an opening for Benzema to score and put the game to rest, only for the striker to fail from close range. It turned out to be a costly miss as shortly after the break, another Frenchman, Houssem Aouar, found the mark for Ittihad to make it 1-1. Though Al-Hilal tried desperately to get a winner, they could not break down the 10 men of Ittihad.
While that result was unfolding, across the city, Ronaldo was putting on a show in Nassr's 4-0 win over Al-Hazem. In the 13th minute, the 41-year-old made an offside trap look silly before thrashing home a left-footed strike. His second goal in the 79thminute was almost a carbon copy of his first. It took him to 20 goals in the league this season and to 964 in his historic 1000-goal chase. More importantly, the result took Nassr back to the top of the table.
The Saudi Pro League title race has never felt quite like this. With 12 matches left, Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli are locked in a breathless three-way battle. Nassr has 55 points; Al-Hilal is on 54, and Al-Ahli, powered by the league's top scorer Ivan Toney (23 goals) is on 53. With the margins so fine, the final stretch of the title race was always going to be gripping. But, the regional dynamic adds a narrative tension that is bubbling beneath every result.
Benzema's audacious move from Jeddah to Riyadh had not just hurt the Ittihad fans. It had also caused heartache to Ronaldo, who was upset that Al-Hilal were spending while his own club was not. He worried that this would reduce Nassr's chance of winning the title and that Benzema would win his third Saudi title while he was still waiting for his first. This prompted him to do what Ronaldo does—throw a hissy fit. But, he is now back doing what Ronaldo does better—scoring goals and winning games.
It will not be easy for Nassr to hold on to its one-point lead. Al-Hilal has the best squad and is still undefeated this season. Anything less than winning the title will be a failure for them. Al-Ahli are also genuine contenders this season. Toney is in the form of his life and is motivated by the potential for a call-up to the England World Cup squad. The team is captained by former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, who has the most clean sheets with nine. This means that the Jeddah team has the best defence in the league, having conceded only 15 goals so far. So, if Nassr or Al-Hilal slip up, Al-Ahli is more than equipped to take advantage.
Nassr's greatest strength is their talisman's ego. Ronaldo's disgruntlement at Al-Hilal signing Benzema could translate into defiant theatre on the pitch. So, as long as he stays injury-free, Nassr can take this race right to the finish line.