RIYADH: It was fitting that the 2026/27 Saudi Pro League season kicked off with a video showcasing Diriyah’s storied history.
The club, founded in 1976 and promoted this season to the Kingdom’s top tier for the first time, represent more than just a football team; their name ties them directly to the First Saudi State, which came into being in Diriyah in February 1727, an event commemorated on Feb. 22 each year as Saudi Founding Day.
So it should perhaps have come as little surprise when their fans showed up for their first-ever Saudi Pro League game, against Al-Ahli at Al-Awwal Park, in their own particular manner; while supporters of other SPL teams typically pull on the club colors, the Diriyah fans were uniformly wearing the white of the traditional Arab thobe, with the team’s burgundy draped around their necks in the form of a scarf.
And they were almost welcomed to the Pro League with a goal within three minutes of kick-off. Al-Ahli were caught out when Hussain Al-Qahtani won possession from Ziyad Al-Johani to slip Oscar Rodriguez through on goal. Only a fine save from Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi, standing in for the injured Edouard Mendy. denied Diriyah their first top-flight goal.
This midfield vulnerability became a glaring problem for Al-Ahli, who looked a different side from the one former head coach Matthias Jaissle, now in charge at Newcastle United, had built over the past two seasons. Instead of breaking a compact block with aerial balls, they resorted to playing through the center but struggled to work their way past Al-Qahtani and Idrissa Gueye.
Al-Ahli’s best opportunity 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 and released Galeno on the break, before the ball fell to Eduard Spertsyan who delivered a crisp finish on his Al-Ahli debut.
Still, Diriyah looked the more dangerous side as they retained more of the ball. The newly promoted side showed no sign of fear but will rue missed chances after coming close to a deserved equalizer.
Two of their best chances came on the cusp of half time. A Clayton Diandy shot inside the box was intercepted by Merih Demiral, but the rebound fell to Omar Colley who spurned a golden opportunity by hitting the post. Diriyah regained possession with a high press, only for Diandy’s long-range effort to graze the side netting.
The tempo slowed in the second half for both sides. Diriyah kept much of the ball but without the same attacking intent they had shown in the first half. Sorties into the box dropped sharply, and at times Bruno Lage’s side looked as if they were content to settle for a narrow defeat against the reigning AFC Champions League Elite champions.
At SHG Arena, Al-Shabab faced visiting Al-Qadsiah, a fixture that generated a total of 14 goals in their past three meetings. Thursday’s game produced another four, and it perhaps offered a new sense of hope for Al-Shabab in the form of an improved performance under new head coach Thomas Letsch. Unfortunately for the six-time SPL champions, however, this did not translate into a result as they lost 3-1.
Yet it was Al-Shabab who took the lead, through Hammam Al-Hammami, in the 15th minute to send the fans into raptures. Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat got Al-Qadsiah back in the game about 10 minutes before half time when he controlled a long ball from Nacho with his chest before rounding the goalkeeper to grab the equalizer.
But overall it was a worrying first 45 for Brendan Rodgers’ side, who struggled to kick into gear until they emerged for the second half.
The introduction of Mohammed Al-Qahtani proved telling, as the former Al-Hilal attacking midfielder made up for an earlier glaring miss 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 sealed the 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.
The SPL returned to Abha for the first time in three seasons as the newly promoted southern side hosted Al-Hazem. It took less than three minutes for the visitors to break down the home side, however, through a goal by Abdulaziz Al-Dhuwayhi, and 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 Mohammed Al-Dosari, but despite the introduction of Nabil Fekir in the second half, they couldn’t get a second and Al-Hazem held on for a 2-1 win.
On Friday, NEOM open their campaign against Al-Fayha at 7:50 p.m., before Al-Ettifaq take on Al-Riyadh and Al-Hilal face Al-Faisaly, both at 9 p.m.
