LONDON: The seventh — and last before the international break — round of Saudi Pro League matches concluded with the familiar sight of Al-Hilal leading the table and Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr sitting in second and third respectively.

Here are five things we learned from the latest round of action.

Al-Hilal make international headlines

Usually, the fact that Al-Hilal recovered from their defeat in the previous round with a 6-0 thrashing of Al-Taawoun would be the biggest story. Not just that but new signings Gabriel Martinelli and Ollie Watkins got five goals between them against the struggling hosts. 

But there was more. After the game, a small number of home fans could be heard on a video that went viral, chanting “Jota, Jota, Jota” toward Ruben Neves, Hilal’s Portuguese star who was a teammate at Wolverhampton Wanderers and friend of the Liverpool player, Diego Jota, who was tragically killed in a car accident in 2025. 

It obviously upset Neves and brought a public condemnation from Cristiano Ronaldo, who called for those responsible to be banned.

“The league must take action and punish this kind of fan behavior,” Ronaldo wrote on social media. “This is no longer football, and there have to be limits. People who behave like this should never be allowed to enter a stadium again.” 

Major international leagues make international headlines and there will be a lot of attention on what Al-Taawoun do next.

Ivan Toney is a goal machine but still human

The England striker has been scoring for fun in Saudi Arabia almost as soon as he arrived in the country. This season, however, he has taken things to another level.

Al-Ahli have been up and down so far but Toney has been a constant threat and he scored another brace as the Greens downed Al-Hazm 3-1. When the visitors took the lead in the first minute, it seemed as if the end could be near for coach Marino Pusic, who has struggled to win over the home fans since arriving last month.

But then Toney set up the first for Francisco Trincao to level and then won and converted a penalty. He made it 3-1 just before the break. That took him on to 10 goals so far this season and it should have been 11. 

Fans were treated to a rare sight as the Englishman actually missed a second half penalty but the much-needed three points were already in the bag, although Neom would leapfrog Al-Ahli into fifth place in the table after their 4-2 win over Al-Fateh on Sunday. 

Al-Qadsiah need a killer instinct 

Some are calling the Eastern Derby the game of the season so far as Al-Qadsiah drew 3-3 with local rivals Ettifaq but the hosts will see it very much as two points dropped. Had the Reds won on Friday then they would have gone top.

From the start they went at the visitors and were two goals ahead after 15 minutes as Ballon d’Or nominee Julian Quinones and strike partner Mateo Retegui showed their predatory instincts once more. The defense, however, was not quite as impressive. 

It was all looking comfortable and perhaps Brendan Rodgers’ men took their eyes off the ball to an extent and after 26 minutes Ettifaq were back in it and then equalized in the second half with a spectacular strike from Alvaro Medran.

With nine minutes remaining, Qadsiah restored their lead but were still unable to see the game out. It was fantastic entertainment for the neutrals but any team with title ambitions cannot be throwing away two-goal leads too often.

Al-Nassr short of ideas in attack

On an evening that rivals Al-Hilal scored six, Al-Nassr struggled to get going and were held to a 1-1 draw at Al-Khaleej. There was a lack of intensity going forward from the away team who were looking to stay level on points with the leaders. 

Ronaldo struggled to get into the game and when Joao Felix is kept quiet as he was for the most part, there is not as much offensive threat as coach Ange Postecoglou would like. Marcelo Brozovic is missed in the midfield with replacement Samu Costa not yet looking quite comfortable since his recent move to Riyadh.

It could have been worse. Al-Khaleej took a deserved lead on the stroke of halftime and at least Nassr came back to earn a point, thanks to a fantastic strike from Abdullah Al-Hamdan.

Postecoglou was left to lament the hectic schedule and while the Australian boss has a point, it is similar for everyone.

Clinical and confident Ittihad sneaking into position

Another week and another win for Al-Ittihad, who defeated Al-Faisaly 3-1 to quietly move into second just a point and a place behind Al-Hilal. It is a good place to be as the league goes into a lengthy break.

Ittihad did not have that many efforts on goal on the road but were still 3-0 ahead by the hour and able to start taking things a little easier. 

Hopes were not high before the start of the season with many expecting that it will take Jens Wissing time to settle as coach especially as the really big stars, including Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, departed in recent months. 

But winning breeds confidence and that has been missing in Jeddah of late. The Tigers may not have the big names when compared to last season but this now looks like a real team that is enjoying every game.