Saudi Pro League Wrap: Al-Nassr Run Riot, Kante Strikes Late For Al-ittihad

Al-Nassr kept their place at the top of the Saudi Pro League with a 5-1 win against Al-Riyadh.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman were the stars of the show as they all recorded at least two goal contributions each to help Al-Nassr continue their perfect start to the season.

Joao Felix opened the scoring after just six minutes when he got on the end of a pass from Coman, before the Frenchman then got on the scoresheet himself on the half-hour mark.

Ronaldo got his first of the match three minutes later as he was played through on goal by Joao Felix, and the Portugal captain slotted the ball past Milan Borjan into the bottom-left corner.

Joao Felix got a second four minutes into the second half before Mamadou Sylla pulled a goal back for the visitors, but Ronaldo wrapped up the win in the 76th minute after Coman squared the ball to the striker for a simple finish.

Elsewhere, Al-Ittihad maintained their 100% league record this season thanks to a 96th-minute winner from N'Golo Kante against Al-Najma.

The reigning champions looked to be heading for a goalless draw when Houssem Aouar's 24th-minute goal was disallowed, but Kante brilliantly found the top-right corner with a first-time strike from Abdulrahman Al Obud's cutback.

Al-Ittihad are second, behind Al-Nassr on goal difference, with both sides winning their opening three matches.

Data Debrief: Ronaldo climbs up the top-scorers list

It was a well-earned victory for Al-Nassr, who produced 3.04 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots to Al-Riyadh's 0.56 from seven attempts.

Ronaldo took six of those shots, accumulating 1.41 xG himself, as his second goal saw him move onto 77 goals in the Saudi Pro League, and 945 for his career.

The Portugal international has now scored 12 goals in 14 Saudi Pro League derbies, with no player scoring more derby goals than Ronaldo since his debut in January 2023.