da gbg bet： The five-time Ballon d'Or winner scored twice to move his side within three points of the summit after the Brazilian struggled for Al-Hilal
da dobrowin： We may only be seven rounds into the 2023-24 Saudi Pro League season, but this is already shaping up to be a thrilling campaign in the Middle East. The top six teams are now separated by just three points after a thoroughly entertaining set of fixtures that returned 36 goals.
Perhaps the most entertainment came in the biggest game of them the past week, as Al-Nassr re-established themselves as title contenders with a 4-3 win over Al-Ahli in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to maintain his fine form in front of goal.
Nassr are now within touching distance of the summit, in part because of leaders Al-Hilal dropping points in their 1-1 draw with Damac. Jorge Jesus' side have now been surpassed at the top by defending champions Al-Ittihad who saw off Al-Fateh with a 2-1 win.
Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq are also well in the title race after a 4-3 win of their own over Al-Ta'ee, but who had a week to remember, and who would rather forget their latest performance?
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the latest round of Saudi Pro League action…
WINNER: Cristiano Ronaldo & Anderson Talisca
Ever since Ronaldo arrived at Al-Nassr in January, there have been doubts over whether he can play together with Brazilian forward Anderson Talisca. That concern only grew in the early weeks of the current campaign when the club suffered some poor results when they were paired together, before results picked up following an injury to Talisca.
There was, then, understandable worries among Nassr fans when the duo were both named in the line up for Friday's crucial clash with high-flying Al-Ahli. As it turned out, though, they need not have been worried.
The pair both scored twice in the 4-3 win, with Ronaldo taking his season's tally to nine goals in just six appearances. The three points moved Nassr up to fifth and to within striking distance of the top of the table, and there is now clear evidence that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner can dovetail with Talisca going forward.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Neymar
It's not been a good week for Neymar, either on or off the pitch, in what has been a crash course for Al-Hilal in what it means to have a (sometimes troubled) global superstar within their ranks.
Ahead of his side's clash with Damac on Thursday, a video published by a Brazilian journalist seemed to show Neymar spending the night with two women in an incident that allegedly took place three months ago in Barcelona.
Neymar's pregnant girlfriend, Bruna Biancardi, responded by posting an angry Instagram story, and there are now reports that the pair could separate following the footballer's apparent infidelity.
Certainly, something seemed to be on Neymar's mind as he put in a disappointing showing and missed a number of relatively easy chances for Hilal as they were held to a 1-1 draw, the dropped points meaning they would give up their place at the top of the table.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Nuno Santo
Al-Ittihad had won the Saudi league title since 2009 when Nuno Espirito Santo took over as manager last season, and so he is already revered as a hero in Jeddah after guiding the club to both the Pro League title and the Saudi Super Cup in his first campaign in charge.
And after Friday's 2-1 win over Al-Fateh, he has his side on course for a successful defence of their title, with the win moving them back to the top of the table after they had slipped behind Al-Hilal following their dramatic Clasico defeat before the international break.
That he pulled off the win without the likes of Karim Benzema, top scorer Abderrazak Hamdallah and key playmaker Igor Coronado is testament to Nuno's coaching ability, and a good sign that he will be tasting success again come the end of the campaign
GOAL ARLOSER: Jorge Jesus
Saudi fans are not known for their patience with managers, and Jorge Jesus is the latest to be facing the wrath of his supporters as calls for him to be sacked by Al-Hilal grow by the day. That might seem harsh for a coach whose team were top of the table until this past week and recently beat their biggest rivals, Al-Ittihad, but performance levels have not always been high despite positive results.
Things took a turn this week as Jesus' side could only draw 1-1 with Uzbeki side Navbahor in the AFC Champions League on Monday, before following that up with the same result against a struggling Damac side who are yet to win a game this season in the Pro League.
Questions have been asked of Jesus' selection choices and his in-game substitutions, while his utilisation of star midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has also come under the microscope after he was seen telling the Serbia international to stay back and not join the attack late on on Thursday, despite Hilal needing a win to retain top spot.