DAMMAM: Al-Qadsiah and Al-Hilal played out an intense encounter at Prince Mohammed bin Fahad Stadium in Dammam on Friday, a thrilling battle that ended 3-2 in favor of the visitors from Riyadh after a thrilling three-goal stretch in the final 15 minutes.

Simone Inzaghi’s side will no doubt be pleased after clinching three points in what is likely to be one of their most difficult away tests of the season.

The question in Saudi football circles prior to the match was whether Al-Qadsiah would continue to live up to their billing as dark-horse contenders for the Saudi Pro League title this season in the face of such a great test.

An encounter such as this, in which they could have tightened their grip on top spot in the league with victory over a side many consider clear favorites, offered the perfect opportunity to set out their stall and confirm their ability to disrupt the status quo in pursuit of their first top-flight title.

Working in Al-Qadsiah’s favor was the fact that they had not lost to Al-Hilal at home since winning promotion to the SPL in 2024. Even as a move to the new Aramco Stadium in Al-Khobar looms, their present home ground has remained a fortress for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Speaking of Rodgers, he clearly understood the task at hand. While most coaches might have been tempted to focus narrowly on danger posed by the undoubted talents of All-Hilal’s front three — Ollie Watkins, Crysencio Summerville and Gabriel Martinelli — the Riyadh side’s strongest threat in recent times has come from the vertical movement of midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Therefore, Rodgers set out to keep a firm hold on the Serbian through tight marking by Julian Weigl. Other defensive tweaks included the placing of Nahitan Nandez on the left side of a back three, and the alternating movement of Julian Quinones and Musab Al-Juwayr to the flanks in defense of any Al-Hilal buildup from the side.

Backing up that defensive safety stood the ever-reliable Koen Casteels. Final scoreline notwithstanding, the Belgian had a fine outing in goal on the night, making four saves in the first half, including one to deny Watkins from the six-yard box.

He was beaten, however, in the 21st minute by Martinelli. A long ball set Watkins through behind the defense in transition, he spotted Martinelli rushing towards the box and delivered the ball to the winger, whose shot deflected through the defense and trickled past Casteels into the net.

It took Al-Qadsiah only 10 minutes to respond. First they came close when a Tijjani Reijnders effort just scraped past the post. Following an unsuccessful corner, Al-Qadsiah pushed again and, with space ahead of the defense, Al-Juwayr spotted a lurking Quinones and delivered a perfectly weighted lob for the Mexican forward to head home.

As the Dammam humidity began to have an effect, the second half unfolded a much slower pace. It did not help that the only substitution before the final 15 minutes of the game came when Martinelli departed through injury in the 49th minute. The fatigue seemed to take its toll more on the home side than the visitors, however.

In the event, it was Al-Hilal’s veteran midfield duo who came with the goods. In the 76th minute, Ruben Neves gave the visitors the lead for a second time with a powerful shot from outside the box that left Casteels with no chance. Then, in the 84th, Milinkovic-Savic finally broke free of Weigl to receive a cutback into the box, which he finished off with ease to extend Al-Hilal’s lead.

But Al-Qadsiah were not about to go down without a fight, and in the 87th minute, a free-kick from the left flank was delivered powerfully into the box and headed into the far corner of the net by Mateo Retegui to keep his team’s hopes alive.

They were indecisive with their final passes in the dying minutes, however, and Al-Hilal held on for an extremely valuable 3-2 victory. It moved them into top spot in the league on 27 points after 10 games, two ahead of Al-Qadsiah, who have played one game more, and Al-Nassr. Al-Ittihad are two points further back in fourth.

In Jeddah, Al-Ahli welcomed visiting Al-Khaleej in a match postponed from Thursday. The hosts cruised to a 4-1 victory in a game that marked the return from injury of Ivan Toney, who took only 11 minutes to celebrate the occasion with a headed goal from an Eduard Spertsyan free-kick.

Ukrainian midfielder Artem Bondarenko capitalized on a goalkeeping error to grab Al-Ahli’s second in the 57th minute — his third goal in two games as he continues to recover from a difficult start to the season — before Francisco Trincao added a third four minutes later.

Al-Khaleej, reduced to 10 men when Mateo Benegas saw red in the 70th minute, managed a late consolation in the 87th minute courtesy of Thamer Al-Khaibari, but Toney completed his brace with a penalty in stoppage time to complete the scoring. It leaves Al-Ahli in fifth place on 21 points.

On Saturday, NEOM host Abha at 5 p.m., before Al-Kholood welcome Al-Ettifaq at 6:05 p.m. and Al-Riyadh face visiting Al-Taawoun at 9 p.m.