The Ange Postecoglou honeymoon is over at Al Nassr after the Saudi champions were beaten 2-1 at Al Ittihad on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure as he played the full 90 minutes, unable to prevent his side from suffering a first defeat of the season and a first setback under their new Australian head coach.
Al Ittihad striker George Ilenikhena has been one of the in-form players in the early weeks of the season, and it took him just four minutes to break the deadlock as he headed in from close range.
He looked to have his second on 18 minutes as he raced clear and fired home, only to be pulled up for a marginal offside. He didn't have to wait long, though, as he collected Houssem Aouar's pass and lifted a superb finish over the keeper to make it 2-0 on 22 minutes. Ilenikhena was on fire and Nassr were sinking without a trace.
They needed a response and got it on 36 minutes when Angelo Gabriel tucked away a rebound after goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic had scrambled to deny Joao Felix.
Nassr pushed for an equaliser in the second half but found Ittihad's Serbian goalkeeper Rajkovic in top form.
The defeat sees Nassr drop three points behind rivals Al Hilal at the top of the table, with Simone Inzaghi's side now the league's sole leaders.
But Nassr coach Postecoglou said his side had deserved to win and backed them to bounce back.
“It’s frustrating to lose. We didn’t start well, especially in the first 15 minutes, and in the second half we saw our true capabilities. It was possible to score several goals, but we were not fortunate,” he said.
“What I saw is that after the 15th minute there was one team creating the chances, and that was Al Nassr. What our players did last season, and this season, has proved that they have character.”
Hilal stay perfect
On Friday night, England striker Ollie Watkins started his first Al Hilal game as they won 2-0 at Al Shabab. Fellow Premier League new recruit Gabriel Martinelli got his first minutes as a second-half substitute.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves both found the back of the net to take Al Hilal to five wins from five games and top of the table.
On Thursday, Al Ahli Saudi beat Al Riyadh 5-0, but the Ahli fans still jeered midfielder Artem Bondarenko, who has proven an unpopular signing.
Striker Ivan Toney stuck up for his teammate, saying: “I feel the fans were jeering at a particular player, and I don't understand that. The player hasn't done anything wrong, he is here and he is part of the family, and it's important that we all stay united and support one another.
“You can't jeer a player and then expect him to put in a good performance. I don't understand that. He is in a different country, he is still young, and there is a lot of pressure on him. We stand by him, we are together, and that's what a family does.”
Toney scored twice from the penalty spot, while Francisco Trincao, Eduard Spertsyan and Naif Khaled Masoud completed the scoring.
Al Qadsiah recorded a 2-0 win over promoted Diriyah thanks to goals from Mateo Retegui and Julian Quinones.
