Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad recorded the biggest results in the opening round of the new 2025-2026 Saudi Professional League season, which kicked off on Thursday. Al-Nassr defeated host Al-Taawoun 5-0, while reigning champions Al-Ittihad returned victorious with the same scoreline from Al-Akhdoud’s stadium, conceding two goals, sharing the top spot with Al-Nassr with 3 points and a superior goal difference.

With a fiery start for “Al-Alami” and “Al-Amid,” Portuguese player João Félix of Al-Nassr and Karim Benzema, captain of Al-Ittihad, scored the first hat-tricks of the season by netting three goals each in their teams’ wins.

The opening round witnessed 32 goals scored in 8 matches, averaging 3.5 goals per game, a high scoring rate.

Seven clubs secured victories: Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Khaleej, Al-Qadsiah, Al-Hilal, Al-Fayha, and Al-Ettifaq, while Al-Hazem and Damac drew.

Sorrow Overcomes Al-Shabab

While happiness filled the homes of winning clubs’ fans, Al-Shabab supporters were deeply saddened as their team, expected to have a strong season, suffered a 4-0 home defeat against Al-Khaleej. The same disappointment was felt by Al-Taawoun and Al-Akhdoud fans after the heavy losses to Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad.

Newcomer Neom lost 0-1 to Al-Ahli Jeddah, but the defeat did not shake confidence in the team, which, under French coach Galtier, is seen as a contender to make a difference in the league.

Al-Hazem Breaks the Pattern

The three promoted clubs Neom, Al-Najma (who lost 0-1 to Al-Ahli), and Al-Qadsiah (who lost 1-3) did not win, but Al-Hazem broke the pattern by drawing 1-1 against Damac.

Cristiano Starts, Al-Somah Fails

Player-wise, Cristiano Ronaldo, the league icon, opened his season with a penalty goal in his campaign to defend his top scorer title for the last two seasons. Uruguayan Nunez, new to Al-Hilal, failed to score in his team’s 2-0 win over Al-Riyadh, as did Abdelrazak Hamdallah, three-time league top scorer, who failed to score in Al-Shabab’s 4-1 loss to Al-Khaleej.

Omar Al-Somah, Al-Hazem’s striker and the league’s all-time top scorer with 154 goals, became the first player to miss a penalty in the league.

3 Red Cards

Disciplinary-wise, three red cards were issued in the first round to Al-Fateh’s Amsan Al-Sebaei, Al-Fayha’s Khaled Al-Ramah, and Al-Akhdoud’s Naif Asiri.