Buoyed by the Ballon d’Or holder and a host of headline arrivals, Al Ittihad began this season just as they concluded the last.
The Saudi Pro League champions, still basking in a first title in 14 years, raced out of the blocks in August, winning their first four league matches. They didn’t concede a goal.
The 4-3 defeat in the “Saudi Clasico”, then, felt an aberration. Ittihad were 3-1 up at half-time at home to Al Hilal, but would finish the match beaten, their collective ego more than a little bruised.
But they rebounded to triumph in successive matches, and all felt right in Jeddah once more.
Then they started to stutter. As it stands, Ittihad have failed to win any of their past four league matches, drawing three and losing one. It proved particularly hurtful: it came in the Jeddah derby, at home, to Al Ahli.
Last week, despite Karim Benzema’s opener for the hosts, Ittihad stumbled to a 2-2 draw with Al Hazem, the side second bottom in the table. Ittihad, perched at the summit after those first four rounds, had slipped to sixth.
Of course, it has piled the pressure on manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Where the Portuguese coach was celebrated last season for guiding the storied club to a ninth top-flight title, and in the process resurrecting his own career, the past few weeks have been fraught with criticism and conjecture. With it, they have carried tales of player unrest.
Even back in August, when Ittihad’s form was fantastic, Nuno had to deny rumours of a rift with Benzema. The theory went that Real Madrid’s all-time second-highest goalscorer had been foisted upon the former Tottenham Hotspur manager; that he was a club, or a league, signing as the kingdom’s principal football competition entered its starry new era.
As the results worsened lately, Nuno’s tactics and team selection have been questioned. Benzema has been accommodated – granted, many managers would embrace the luxury of finding a spot for the five-time Uefa Champions League winner – but the team has looked well out of synch. Brazilian compatriots Igor Coronado and Romarinho, so integral last season, were relocated from central roles to the wings. As such, their output receded.
What is more, Fabinho has been poor since joining this summer from Liverpool, while Jota, another big-money recruit, has barely been used following his transfer from Celtic.
It must be said, though, that Nuno has been hamstrung by injuries to accomplished centre-back pair Ahmed Hegazi and Ahmed Sharahili.
He will therefore hope Tuesday’s 3-0 win at Al Fayha in the last 16 of the King’s Cup can spark his side. Abderrazak Hamdallah, the league’s top scorer in 2022/23 but another said to have butted heads with Nuno, scored twice, Benzema adding the other.
Benzema, to be fair, appeared there more like a player afforded one of the most lucrative contracts in Saudi football history. Not only did he score, but he was involved in one of Hamdallah's goal, too. Still, five goals in nine appearances for the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner has fallen way short of his promise.
Thus, Friday would be an opportune time to strengthen that strike rate. Ittihad travel to Al Shabab, the Riyadh-based side with their own troubles this term. Fourth last season, they sacked manager Marcel Keizer after failing to win any of their opening five matches. Since, they have taken 10 points from a possible 18.
Languishing in 11th, Igor Biscan’s appointment as Keizer’s replacement has not been a resounding success, but the team contains the evergreen Ever Banega and the talented Yannick Carrasco. The latter of which acquired in early September, the Belgian has five goals in seven matches.
Arguably, Nuno needs three points on Friday more than his coaching counterpart. Another reverse, this time in Riyadh, and the strain only escalates. Even with that terrific title win, the glow from last season’s success has dulled significantly.
