Saudi League Standings: How It Looks After Ronaldo Reaches 400 Goals, Al Hilal Remain Unbeaten

Al-Hilal continued to dominate the top spot in the standings with a convincing victory over Al Fateh, maintaining their unbeaten streak since the start of the 2023-2024 Saudi Pro League season.

Meanwhile, cross-town rivals Al-Nassr, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, stayed in pursuit of Al-Hilal, securing a hard-fought win to claim three valuable points.

In other matches, Al Shabab surprised Al Ittihad with a notable victory, while match day 12 saw three draws, two of which ended in a goalless stalemate.

Here is a comprehensive overview of the exciting fixtures that unfolded during the 12th round of the Saudi top division.

Saudi League standings after Ronaldo sparks comeback win for Al Nassr as Benzema scores own goal

Football

Recap of match day 12 results

We start from Jeddah, where Al Ahli put an end to their two-game losing streak with a dominant performance against Al Riyadh at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium, as cited by SWF.

Former Al Fateh striker Feras Al Brikan opened the scoring for the home side, followed by a goal from the Spanish talent Gabri Veiga, marking his first Saudi Pro League (SPL) goal since joining from Celta Vigo in the summer.

Another summer signing, Riyad Mahrez, continued his impressive goal-scoring form, adding to his season tally with a superb strike, taking his goal count to five.

Moving to the north-central region of Saudi Arabia, specifically in Buraidah, Al Taawoun secured their third draw in five league matches, sharing the points with Damac at their home ground.

Péricles Chamusca's side have encountered difficulties during this period, managing to score only seven goals, with their most recent outing ending in a goalless draw.

Meanwhile, in the capital, Riyadh, the defending champions, Al Ittihad, struggled to break their recent poor form, suffering a shocking defeat to Al Shabab, per Arab News.

This marked the first victory for the White Lions over Al Ittihad since 2021. Despite the attacking prowess of former Real Madrid star Karim Benzema and last season's top scorer Abderrazak Hamdallah, Nuno Espirito Santo's team seems to be underperforming compared to their previous standards.

While Benzema and Ittihad faced setbacks, Cristiano Ronaldo continued to lead Al-Nassr to victories, achieving a remarkable milestone of 400 goals since turning 30 with a stunning long-range strike against Al Khaleej, according to Fan Nation.

He also increased his assist count to seven by setting up Aymeric Laporte for his first goal in the Saudi League. The win for Luis Castro's side solidified their position as the most prolific team in the championship, with 33 goals scored in 12 matches.

The most thrilling action unfolded at the Prince Abdul Aziz bin Masaad Stadium, where Al Taee and Al Feiha engaged in a captivating six-goal spectacle.

Al Feiha initially took the lead through the experienced Nigerian forward Anthony Nwakaeme, but the home team swiftly responded with three quick goals in the span of eight minutes.

Enzo Roco levelled the score, followed by goals from Saudi international Rakan Shamlan and former Atletico Madrid midfielder Bernard Mensah.

However, Al Feiha's African-inspired attack staged a comeback, with Nigeria's Henry Onyekuru and Zambia's Fashion Sakala finding the net, resulting in a thrilling 3-3 draw, as noted by ZamFoot.

Also, league leaders Al-Hilal dispatched Al Fateh with a two-nil scoreline. Red-hot striker Aleksander Mitrovic scored in his fifth successive game for the Blue Waves from the spot to break the deadlock after five minutes.

But the night belonged to Asia's reigning best player, Salem AL Dawsari, when he produced a Lionel Messi-esque moment, weaving his way into the Fateh box before unleashing an unstoppable drive to double the lead for Jorge Jesus's side.

Lastly, at the state-of-the-art new home ground of Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq, the team failed to recover from their midweek King's Cup defeat to Al-Nassr, settling for a goalless draw with Al Raed, disappointing the over 12,000 fans gathered at the Abdullah Al Dabil Stadium.

Saudi League standings

Following the end of match day 12 games, the top three teams in the Saudi Pro League retained their positions, with Al-Hilal continuing their unbeaten run despite the absence of star signing Neymar, who has been missing in action since the international break in October.

The Blue Waves have accumulated an impressive 32 points from 12 games, dropping only four points since the beginning of the season.

City rivals and last season's runners-up Al-Nassr boast the most potent attack in the league but find themselves in second place, four points behind Hilal with 28 points.

Al Taawoun, despite losing two points, firmly held onto their third spot, gathering 25 points. However, they share the same points tally with Al Ahli, who climbed from fifth to fourth place.

Ahli's ascent in the standings led to Al Fateh dropping to fifth place, while defending champions Al Ittihad sit in sixth position with 21 points. Steven Gerrard's Al Ettifaq also have 21 points, but their inferior goal difference places them in seventh position.

On the lower end of the table, struggling teams such as Al Akhdoud, Al Hazem, and Al Raed maintained their positions in the 16th, 17th, and 18th spots, respectively.

However, Abha, who were dangerously close to the relegation zone, managed to improve their standing, moving up to the 12th spot after securing a thrilling victory over Al Akhdoud.