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Al-Ahli Held to a Surprise Draw Against Al-Riyadh

Al-Ahli were held to a surprising 1-1 draw by Al-Riyadh at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium in Jeddah, in Match week 7 of the Saudi Pro League.

Both goals came deep into stoppage time. English striker Ivan Toney gave Al-Ahli the lead from the penalty spot (90+1’), before Portuguese midfielder Tozé equalized for Al-Riyadh with a penalty of his own (90+11’).

With this result, Al-Ahli moved up to 13 points in fifth place, while Al-Riyadh climbed to seven points, sitting 12th in the standings.

Following the match, Al-Ahli’s German coach Matthias Jaissle blamed the disappointing outcome on his side’s wastefulness in front of goal, highlighting the missed chances that cost them two valuable points. He also pointed to the lack of attacking depth in his squad following the summer departures of Brazilian Roberto Firmino and Spaniard Gabri Veiga.

“It’s a frustrating result. Our goal was to win, but we failed to take our opportunities,” Jaissle said in his post-match press conference. “If you don’t score, you leave yourself vulnerable — especially against teams that sit deep and defend compactly.”

He added, “I don’t want to single out any player, but we had several clear chances that we didn’t convert. We should have reinforced our attack after parting ways with Firmino and Veiga. The chances we create must be turned into goals — we simply didn’t capitalize on our dominance.”

Jaissle also urged his midfielders and forwards to show greater attacking intent, promising to address that issue in training. He lamented his team’s failure to maintain their lead: “We should’ve managed the game better after scoring first, and I don’t believe the penalty awarded against us was justified — the referee added more than 12 minutes of stoppage time.”

Neom Back to Winning Ways

Neom returned to winning form with a 3-2 victory away to Al-Kholood at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Buraidah.

Algerian winger Saïd Benrahma (8’, 66’) and an own goal by Nigerian defender William Ekong (32’) secured Neom’s goals, while Frenchman Kevin N’Doram (5’) and Argentine Ramiro Enrique (82’) scored for Al-Kholood.

Neom’s win lifted their tally to 13 points, while Al-Kholood remained on nine points in ninth place.

Elsewhere, Damac and Al-Fateh shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Abha.

After a goalless first half, Algerian Sofiane Bendebka put Al-Fateh ahead (47’), before Moroccan Marouane Saadane turned the ball into his own net to hand Damac the equalizer (63’).

Al-Fateh now have five points in 15th place, two ahead of Damac, who remain 16th.