We barely have any time to digest a gameweek as the Roshn Saudi League has an immensely tight schedule. Nevertheless, let’s try to recap the key events of round 16 (even if we are a bit behind schedule)!
1. An ode to Al Taawoun
It’s not that big of a surprise to the followers of Saudi football that Al Taawoun is a good team, for example, they represented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the AFC Champions League Two last year. However, they look exceptionally solid this season, and it’s not up to some summer transfer miracle (without any disrespect to their new signings, obviously).
This team is solid and very structured, the team spirit is second to none, and they are a joy to watch. We believe that the key component is head coach Péricles Chamusca, who returned to Buraidah after helping NEOM to promote to the top division on the first time of asking. He is probably the manager of the season in our books so far, and we are curious to see whether he can achieve international cup qualification against the odds in a more challenging league environment than ever.
2. An ode to Roger Martínez
Let’s be honest: we didn’t expect Roger Martínez to make the headlines so many times this season. Clearly, he is enjoying the season of his life, and we are obviously very delighted to see him thrive. While the key for Al Taawoun seems to be the team spirit, Martínez has been a very reliable source of goals, and deserves all the praise. We congratulate to him for his latest hat-trick against Al Riyadh, raising his goal tally to double digits with style.
3. A little piece of Greece: Al Khaleej
It’s not uncommon that a head coach prefers his compatriots or prioritises players from his native league, and the story of Al Khaleej isn’t different either. It’s also not uncommon especially in this league that a team goes through a complete overhaul in the summer, and the story of Al Khaleej fits the bill in this respect, too.
The end result? A Greek victory. We believe that Fortounis had a good start to life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia last year, but the team reshaped around the creative Greek maestro seems to be better than ever. Not only did Fortounis level up his game, but his compatriot Masouras currently seems to be unable to stop scoring, and they form a formidable partnership with an in-form Joshua King. Can they be the surprise team of the year?
4. You have to feel sorry for Al Najmah
Al Najmah may be sitting at the bottom of the table still winless, however, you have to feel sorry for them. They really had some memorable matches – like the heroic comeback against Al Ettifaq – but somehow they couldn’t land a win so far, and lost out on points narrowly more than once.
This round wasn’t different either as they hosted in-form Al Fateh and drew with a 1-1 scoreline. Ali Jasim scored a wonderful leveller and also hit the post: this was a match, which could have gone either way. And once these matches start going their way, we believe that there is still hope for Al Najmah to survive.
5. Ronaldo and co bounce back – can they re-enter the title race?
This hasn’t been a dream year for Al Nassr so far. Finally, they started to turn it around against local rivals Al Shabab. Ronaldo and co quickly took a two-goals’ lead (Coman’s scissors kick is definitely a must-watch if you missed!), just to give it away, however, once Al Shabab went down to 10 men, Al Nassr capitalised and grabbed a 3-2 victory.
Can Al Nassr bounce back to the title fight? And can Al Shabab finally stop getting red cards?
