DNA
RIYADH: Brendan Rodgers and his Al-Qadsiah squad have been tipped by some as the Saudi Pro League’s dark horses this season. On Thursday, they faced a team, Diriyah, that are closely following their model, in the sense that they have been attempting to build a very strong squad just months after earning promotion to the top flight.
From World Cup debutants Nikola Vasilj and Chancel Mbemba at the back to the likes of Enzo Millot and Darwin Nunez up front, Diriyah have transformed beyond all recognition from the team that earned promotion from Division 1 just a few months ago.
They made life difficult for Al-Ahli before falling to a narrow 1-0 loss on the opening day of the season and have earned two victories and a draw since then, so Rodgers would have been aware his men were not facing your average newly promoted side.
With Tijjani Reijnders missing for personal reasons, Al-Qadsiah instead leaned on Mohammed Al-Qahtani, who shone in their 3-1 away victory over Al-Shabab on opening day, to break through on the right.
Diriyah lined up in an asymmetric 5-3-2 formation, with Clayton Diandy dropping into a right central-midfield role defensively before pushing into the right wing in transition. That meant Millot, on the left of the midfield three, had a great deal of ground to cover.
In the first half, Diriyah appeared comfortable. Al-Qadsiah were cautious to begin with, and Diriyah’s deployment of a back five for the first time this season did enough to prevent right wing-back Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat and left wing-back Christopher Bonsu Baah from breaking into the final third with ease.
In fact, a disciplined Diriyah approach almost brought a reward in the opening 45. In the 10th minute, Millot found Nunez on the shoulder of Al-Qadsiah center-back Jehad Thekri, who clipped Nunez in the box, prompting a penalty review. After a check by the video assistant referee, however, play resumed without the spot-kick being awarded.
Millot was at the heart of another of Diriyah’s best attacking moments in the 26th minute, when he weaved out of his own box to release Diandy on the counter. However, Diandy failed to get the right power on his shot and the ball went wide of Koen Casteels’ goal.
Al-Qadsiah began to push Diriyah back further in the second half, and in the 51st minute, Al-Qahtani was brought down in the box for a penalty. Mateo Retegui stepped up and slotted the spot kick home to break the deadlock.
Seven minutes later, Al-Qahtani combined with Abu Al-Shamat down the right and the wing-back delivered a cross for Julian Quinones, who evaded his former teammate, Qassem Lajami, to power a header home. It was Quinones’ 55th SPL goal in 64 appearances for Al-Qadsiah.
In the closing stages, Diriyah pushed forward in search of a lifeline but could not find a way through. Their closest chance came when Nunez rattled the crossbar with a well-executed free-kick in the 88th minute. The night ended on even more of a sour note for Diriyah when Oscar Rodriguez was sent off in the dying moments for violent conduct against Musab Al-Juwayr.
The 2-0 victory moved Al-Qadsiah into third place on 12 points after five games, their only dropped points so far coming in a 1-0 home defeat to Al-Ittihad on Matchday 2. They are tied on points with the top two, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, both of whom have a game in hand. Diriyah sit seventh on seven points.
Al-Kholood moved into fourth place on nine points, and maintained their unbeaten record, when Julian Domingues headed a late equalizer to earn a 2-2 draw against home side Al-Fayha.
Fashion Sakala stood out for the hosts, scoring his first goal of the season with a composed finish from outside the box. It took his SPL tally to 41 goals and extended his record as Al-Fayha’s all-time top scorer in the league.
Neom secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Al-Khaleej, with the goals coming from Alexandre Lacazette, Muhannad Al-Saad and Amadou Kone. The win moved them into fifth spot, also on nine points. Al-Khaleej’s poor start to the season under manager Jose Gomes continued, with the side now having gone five games without a win, and only three points from three draws.
On Friday, Abha are at home to Al-Ettifaq at 7 p.m. Then Al-Ahli host Al-Riyadh in Jeddah and Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal clash in a Riyadh derby at SHG Arena, with both games kicking off at 9 p.m.
