Al Nassr begin smoothly while Al Hilal find work to do

Al Nassr began their title defence with Cristiano Ronaldo watching and the rest of the attack giving Ange Postecoglou a comfortable introduction. Angelo, Joao Felix and debutant Samu Costa scored against Al Fateh at Al Awwal Park, securing a win by three goals without reply. A new coach had his first league victory, and the champions had started without needing their leading scorer to carry the evening.

Felix had collected the previous season’s Player of the Season award before the match and then provided another reminder of his importance. Angelo opened the scoring late in the first half, Felix added a fine individual goal soon afterwards and Costa completed the scoring after coming off the bench. Al Fateh goalkeeper Walid Al Enezi kept other chances out, but Al Nassr had enough productive moments to make the result convincing.

The performance gave Postecoglou something useful beyond the points. A title winning squad can provide continuity for a new manager, but that continuity still has to appear in the way players combine and take responsibility. The contributions from different parts of the attack were an encouraging start. Ronaldo’s return will add another option to a team that has already begun scoring rather than waiting for him to do so.

Across Riyadh, Al Hilal’s opening match brought both promise and a warning. They scored three times inside the first half hour against promoted Al Faisaly, with penalties from Karim Benzema and Ruben Neves around a Malcom goal. The early advantage seemed to give Simone Inzaghi’s side a straightforward route through the evening. Instead, Al Faisaly scored twice after the interval and made the hosts work to protect it.

Alexandre Mendy and Theo Bongonda brought the visitors within a goal before Neves converted another penalty late on. Al Hilal finished with a win by two goals, but the change in the contest will be worth examining. An attack that creates an early lead is valuable; keeping the game under control afterwards is part of making that advantage reliable. The hosts had done enough to win while allowing the promoted side a genuine way back.

Crysencio Summerville’s debut offered encouragement within that mixed picture. The new arrival was involved in the attack and won a penalty, giving Inzaghi an early contribution from a player still learning the team. Benzema also scored amid continuing reports about his future. Those discussions remain separate from what can be established on the pitch: he started, contributed a goal and was replaced during a game Al Hilal ultimately won.

Al Ittihad found no such winning finish against Al Kholood. The sides drew with a goal each, and Hamed Al Shanqiti was central to the visitors leaving with a point. The young goalkeeper saved Houssem Aouar’s penalty and made other important stops against the club that had loaned him out. It was an immediate return on Al Kholood’s decision to give him an opportunity.

There is a useful player development story in that performance without asking one match to prove too much. Al Shanqiti needs a season of work to establish himself, but playing regularly gives him chances that a place on the bench cannot. Beginning with an influential display against his parent club will help his confidence. For Al Ittihad, it leaves a more direct question about turning the opportunities they created into goals.

Al Ahli found a narrow route to three points on Marino Pusic’s first league evening. Newly promoted Diriyah made their introduction to the top flight competitive, but the visitors left with the only goal. A coach appointed shortly before the season began could reasonably value the result while recognising that the performance would give him areas to improve. The first match did not need to settle every question left by the summer.

Brendan Rodgers’ Al Qadsiah made a stronger impression in the scoreline, winning at Al Shabab by three goals to one. Julian Quinones was among the scorers after finishing the previous campaign with the golden boot. Reports of an agreement for Manchester City midfielder Tijjani Reijnders added to the sense of ambition, although neither club had confirmed the transfer at the time of this opening round review. The useful evidence was the away win already secured.

There were contributions worth noting beyond those leading contenders. Moussa Dembele scored a hat trick as Al Ettifaq beat Al Riyadh in a match with six goals, giving new coach Arthur Papas a winning start. Rayane Messi also scored on his Ettifaq debut. NEOM beat Al Fayha despite finishing with ten men, while Al Taawoun and Al Khaleej shared the points in the round’s only goalless draw.

For the promoted clubs, the weekend underlined the difficulty of the step up. Abha lost narrowly to Al Hazem, Al Faisaly threatened a recovery against Al Hilal without completing it, and Diriyah were beaten by a single goal. All three finished without a point, but each has a different performance to review. The next task is to turn the competitive parts into results rather than let the opening table define the season.

The strongest early impression came from Al Nassr’s assurance and Al Hilal’s attacking start, although only one of those performances remained comfortable throughout. Al Shanqiti supplied a reminder that an important result can also be shaped by a player beginning to establish himself. There are many months before the title is decided. The opening round has given the coaches evidence to work with, and the more useful response now is to improve on it rather than treat it as a forecast.