Matchday 3 of the Saudi Pro League gets a shift forward this week, with games on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Five teams look to maintain their perfect start to the season, with Neom joining Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ahli Saudi and Al Ettifaq on six points.
Ronaldo returns
Cristiano Ronaldo is officially off the mark for the 2026–27 season after registering a goal in Al Nassr's 4–0 win at Al Riyadh.
Ronaldo's race to 1,000 goals dominated much of the pre-season talk, but fans were made to wait to see the Al Nassr captain in action after he was given an extended break following his World Cup exploits with Portugal and his recent marriage to longtime partner Georgina Rodriguez.
He watched the opening-day win over Al Fateh from the stands, and was again left out as Nassr clinched a place in the last 16 of the King's Cup, courtesy of a 4-1 victory over Diriyah.
On Friday, he was introduced as a substitute in the 62nd minute, sporting a new haircut. Nassr already held a commanding 3-0 lead when Ronaldo received an Ayman Yahya pass, rolled past his marker and swept the ball past Milan Borjan in the Riyadh goal.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is now only 23 goals away from reaching the 1,000-goal milestone.
It was his first run out under new Nassr coach Ange Postecoglou. Some had questioned whether Ronaldo was a good fit for the 'Angeball' approach, but the Australian was full of praise for his 41-year-old talisman after the match.
“His mentality is he always wants to play, but he made sure he did all the right things – at training he worked hard – and it was fantastic for him to get 30 minutes today," Postecoglou said.
“And he scores a goal, which just shows you the measure of the man.”
From there, Ronaldo flew to Paris to join world leaders Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the Esports World Cup, of which he is a global ambassador, drew to a close.
The jet-setter is expected back in Saudi Arabia for Nassr's next match: an away assignment to Al Ettifaq on Tuesday.
Nunez on the move, Reijnders set for debut
Darwin Nunez's loan move from Al Hilal to Diriyah has been confirmed. The Uruguayan striker, 27, had been linked with a move to Turkish club Trabzonspor to reunite with his former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, but Diriyah's persistence paid off, and he is now in line to make his debut in Wednesday's clash against Al Kholood.
Joining Nunez in a new-look attack is Enzo Millot, the 24-year-old German midfielder, who joins on loan from Asian champions and Pro League rivals Al Ahli Saudi.
The third addition is Adil Boulbina, who joins from Al Duhail after a season in which the winger registered 20 goal contributions in 32 Qatar Stars League games, including 13 goals. Boulbina, 23, was part of Algeria’s squad at the summer World Cup.
One new arrival who got some minutes under his belt was Tijjani Reijnders.
The Dutch midfielder sealed a £52-million move to Al Qadsiah last week. The former Manchester City player was introduced as a second-half substitute by coach Brendan Rodgers, but he was powerless to prevent a 1-0 defeat to Al Ittihad.
"I came here to try and win trophies with my teammates – we're playing for four trophies, if I'm right," Reijnders told the SPL website.
"We want to win as many as possible, and we are all very eager to do that. And, personally, I hope I can help the team as much as possible with goals and assists.”
Summerville makes an immediate impact
No club has spent more this summer than the £60m (£55m plus £5m in add-ons) that Al Hilal paid to purchase Crysencio Summerville from West Ham United.
On his debut on August 14, Summerville won the second of Hilal's three penalties in the match against promoted Al Faisaly.
Ruben Neves converted, and despite a second-half fightback, Hilal ran out 4-2 winners.
His second SPL match, against Al Fayha on Thursday, was equally impressive.
The Netherlands international had a hand in the first of Hilal's three goals and fired a fizzing shot that Fayha goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera could only parry into the path of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who scored.
After Sultan Mandash doubled Hilal's lead, Summerville was given penalty duties when Theo Hernandez was bundled over in the Fayha box. Summerville, 24, opted for a Panenka penalty but fluffed his lines.
It had no bearing on the outcome, with Nasser Al Dawsari adding a third to maintain Hilal's perfect start to the new campaign.
“We’ve started very strong in the league; very important away game as well,” he said. “So I'm happy with the three points today.”
“Obviously, the three points away from home, very important for us. We had some good attacks, but we need to finish them.”
On his penalty miss, Summerville added: “Oh yeah, I should have put it away, to [seal] the game as well.”
With Malcom having joined UAE club Al Jazira after his contract was terminated, coach Simone Inzaghi will look to Summerville to ignite Hilal's attack.
An electric winger who shone at this summer’s World Cup, playing in all four of the Netherlands' games, Summerville said he still had plenty more to offer.
“I know what I'm capable of,” Summerville said. “For me, it was a good game, like OK for me. But I know what I'm capable of; I know what I can do. So there's a lot to improve in my game, and I will go in the training ground and work on this.”
Fixtures
All kick-offs are UAE time.
Monday
Neom v Al Qadsiah, 8.40pm
Al Ittihad vs Al Hazem, 10pm
Tuesday
Abha vs Al Khaleej, 8.05pm
Al Taawoun v Al Fayha, 8.10pm
Al Ettifaq vs Al Nassr, 10pm
Al Shabab v Al Riyadh, 10pm
Wednesday
Al Faisaly vs Al Fateh, 8pm
Diriyah v Al Kholood, 10pm
Al Hilal vs Al Ahli Saudi has been moved to September 1.
