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- Al-Ahli claimed a 1-0 victory against SPL debutants Al-Diriyah thanks to an Eduard Spertsyan goal
- Elsewhere, Al-Qadsiah rallied to a late 3-1 victory over Al-Shabab, while Abha returned to the SPL with a 2-1 defeat to Al-Hazem
RIYADH: It was fitting that the 2026/27 Saudi Pro League season opened with a video showcasing Diriyah's storied history. The club, which has made it to the Kingdom's top tier for the first time since its founding in 1976, represents more than just a football team. It is directly tied to the First Saudi State, which came into being in Diriyah in 1727 — now commemorated as Saudi Founding Day.
And so it came as no surprise that their fans showed up for their opening game against Al-Ahli at Al-Awwal Park in a completely different fashion. While the rest of the SPL fanbases don their club colours, the Diriyah fan group — stationed in the centre of the Al-Awwal Park stands — exclusively wore white: the traditional thobe of Saudi Arabia, with the club's burgundy draped around them in the form of a scarf.
Those fans were almost rewarded within three minutes of kickoff. Al-Ahli were caught playing out of the back by a high defensive press from the hosts, as Hussain Al-Qahtani won possession off Ziyad Al-Johani to slip Oscar Rodriguez through on goal. A fine save from Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi — standing in for the injured Edouard Mendy — denied Diriyah their first top-flight goal.
That midfield vulnerability became a glaring problem for Al-Ahli, who looked a different side from the one current Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle built over the last two seasons. Instead of breaking a compact block with aerial balls, they resorted to playing through the centre, but struggled to work their way past Al-Qahtani and Idrissa Gueye.
Al-Ahli's best opening ultimately came in transition, when Francisco Trincao received the ball deep in his own half in the 25th minute. He weaved his way through the Diriyah midfield to release Galeno on the break, before the ball fell to Eduard Spertsyan for a crisp finish on his Al-Ahli debut.
Despite the lead, Al-Diriyah looked the more dangerous side and retained more of the ball. The newly promoted side showed no signs of fear, but will rue their missed chances after coming close to a deserved equalizer.
On the cusp of half-time, two chances brought them closest. Clayton Diandy's shot inside the box was intercepted by Merih Demiral, but the rebound fell to Omar Colley, who spurned a golden opportunity by striking the post. A Diriyah high press regained possession, only for Diandy's long-range effort to graze the side netting.
The second half saw a slower tempo from both sides. Diriyah kept the ball, but not with the same attacking intent as the first half. Entries into the box dropped sharply, and at times Bruno Lage's side appeared content to settle for a narrow defeat against the reigning AFC Champions League Elite champions — one Al-Ahli were happy to take as they claimed all three points on opening day.
A short drive away from Al-Awwal Park, the SHG Stadium hosted Al-Shabab's encounter with Al-Qadsiah — a fixture that has seen 14 goals across their last three meetings. The evening did not produce the same volume of goals, but it did offer a new sense of hope for Al-Shabab.
Unfortunately for the six-time SPL champions, their improved performance under new head coach Thomas Letsch did not translate into a result, as they fell to Al-Qadsiah 3-1.
Al-Shabab took the lead through the young Hammam Al-Hammami, who finished past Ahmed Al-Kassar in the 15th minute to send the fans into raptures. Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat kept Al-Qadsiah in the game before half-time, bringing the game level after chest-controlling a long ball from Nacho before rounding the goalkeeper to nick the equalizer.
It remained a worrying first 45 for Brendan Rodgers' side, who struggled to kick into gear until the second half.
The introduction of Mohammed Al-Qahtani proved telling, as the former Al-Hilal attacking midfielder made up for his glaring miss earlier by teeing up none other than Julian Quinones — last season's top scorer — to give Al-Qadsiah the lead in the 80th minute. Turki Al-Ammar then sealed a 3-1 victory for the visitors in stoppage time, after Al-Qahtani drove forward on the counter to release Quinones, who set up Al-Ammar for the finish.
Elsewhere, the SPL returned to Abha for the first time in years, as the southern side hosted Al-Hazem in the day's first fixture. It took less than three minutes for Al-Hazem to break the hosts, before Ahmed Al-Shamrani added a second in the 40th minute to cap a man-of-the-match performance.
Abha pulled one back in the second half with a scorcher from Mohamed Al-Dosari, but despite Nabil Fekir's introduction in the second half, Al-Hazem held on for a 2-1 win.
The second day of the SPL season kicks off on Friday, with NEOM opening their campaign against Al-Fayha at 7:50 p.m., before two 9 p.m. fixtures: Al-Ettifaq vs. Al-Riyadh and Al-Hilal against recently promoted Al-Faisaly.