Saud Abdulhamid Makes History for Saudi Arabia in Roma’s Victory Over Braga
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome witnessed a landmark moment for Saudi football as right-back Saud Abdulhamid, recently signed from Al-Hilal, scored his first goal for his new club AS Roma during their 3-0 victory over Portuguese side Braga in the sixth round of the UEFA Europa League.
Early in the second half, Abdulhamid surged forward from the back, entered the penalty area, and capitalized on a pass from Frenchman Emmanuel Koné. He unleashed a powerful shot into the top of the net in the 47th minute, doubling his team’s lead.
With this goal, Abdulhamid became the first Saudi player to score in a European competition and the first Arab to achieve this feat for Roma since their former Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah.
The 25-year-old Saudi star had already made an impact in Roma’s 4-1 Serie A win over Lecce, where he assisted a goal for teammate Nicolo Biseglie. This earned him the trust of veteran coach Claudio Ranieri, who gave him his first start since joining the team.
Roma had taken the lead early through captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, who scored with a shot from the edge of the box following a pass from Polish teammate Nicola Zalewski in the 10th minute.
The match tilted further in Roma’s favor in the 68th minute when Braga’s Brazilian goalkeeper Matheus Lima was shown a red card for handling the ball outside the penalty area to deny Abdulhamid, who had broken through the offside trap and was attempting to chip the ball over him. Roma capitalized on their numerical advantage, adding a third goal in injury time through Spanish substitute Mario Hermoso (90+1).
With this victory, Roma recorded their second win in the Europa League, alongside three draws and one defeat, bringing their tally to 9 points and placing them 14th overall.
It was also Roma’s second win in all competitions following their 4-1 league victory over Lecce in Serie A’s 15th round.
After the match, Abdulhamid posted on his “X” platform account: “Praise to God for his grace and blessings. Congratulations to the Giallorossi fans on three important points in our European journey.”
He added, “A special moment in my career as a player to score this first goal wearing Roma’s jersey. Thank you for all the support and encouragement.”
Other Notable Results
In Amsterdam, Lazio retained their lead at the top of the table with a 3-1 away win over Ajax, denying former leaders Athletic Bilbao from holding the top spot for more than 24 hours after their 2-0 victory over Fenerbahçe.
Lazio’s goals came from Frenchman Loum Tchaouna (12), Nigerian Festy Ebosele (52), and Spaniard Pedro Rodriguez (77), while Burkina Faso’s Bertrand Traoré had equalized for Ajax early in the second half (47).
Lazio now sit on 16 points, tied with Bilbao but ahead on goal difference, and two points clear of Belgian side Anderlecht, who defeated Slavia Prague 2-1 away.
Elsewhere, Manchester United secured a hard-fought 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzeň in the Czech Republic, thanks to two goals from Danish substitute striker Rasmus Højlund, climbing to seventh place with 12 points.
In France, Lyon earned a valuable 3-2 home win over German side Eintracht Frankfurt. Lyon, buoyed by the victory ahead of their tough local clash with Paris Saint-Germain, now have 13 points, level with fourth-placed Frankfurt, who suffered their first loss in the competition this season.
Lyon’s goals were scored by Rayan Cherki (27), Wesley Fofana (50), and Ghanaian Ernest Nuamah (54), while Frankfurt’s Algerian midfielder Farès Chaïbi (18) and Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush (85) found the net for the visitors.
Tottenham Hotspur narrowly avoided defeat, drawing 1-1 with Rangers in Scotland.
Moroccan Hamza Ekhmann opened the scoring for Rangers in the 47th minute, but Swedish forward Dejan Kulusevski equalized for Spurs in the 75th minute.
Tottenham are currently ninth in the standings with 11 points, tied on goal difference with eighth-placed Rangers, the last team holding a direct qualification spot for the Round of 16.
