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RIYADH: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received the French President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian in Riyadh on Wednesday.
During the reception, the officials discussed the current developments in Lebanon and efforts made in this regard.
The meeting comes as Israel said on Wednesday that it had begun limited ground incursions into Lebanon targeting Hezbollah.
Al-Hilal thrashed Al-Shorta of Iraq 5-0 on Tuesday to make it two wins out of two in the AFC Champions League Elite, and three for three matchday 2 wins for Saudi clubs in Asia’s premier club tournament.
Following victories on Monday for Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli, four-time winners of the competition Al-Hilal never looked to be in any danger in front of their home fans in Riyadh as they delivered a clinical, comprehensive victory without ever really breaking sweat and with each of the goals scored by a different player.
It was a ninth successive win in all competitions for the Saudi Pro League leaders and defending champions, who are once again starting to look very ominous, even at this early stage of the season, not only domestically but in the continental competition.
Their opening goal did not take long to arrive; 11 minutes, in fact. Aleksandar Mitrovic headed the ball across the face of goal for fellow Serbian Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who was coming in at the near post. His shot, from almost point-blank range, was well-saved by Ahmed Basil but Marcos Leonardo, signed from Benfica just a month ago as cover for the injured Neymar, was waiting to bundle the ball into the net from the rebound.
It was the perfect start and things got even better for Al-Hilal just four minutes later. Brazilian left-back Renan Lodi struggled to impress last season after arriving from Marseille in January but has looked much more settled this time around. He clipped a cross toward the near post from just outside a crowded area and Mitrovic was able to get in front of the defense to head home.
What had been a big ask for the Iraqis was starting to look like a mission impossible. Even when they did manage to make it into their opponents’ half, Kalidou Koulibaly or Ali Al-Bulaihi always seemed to be waiting to tidy up and eliminate any threat. Hussein Ali did manage a shot that went wide but that was about the extent of the Iraqis’ chances.
Any lingering hopes Al-Shorta, who held Al-Nassr to a draw two weeks ago, might have had of getting back into the game were extinguished five minutes after the restart. Mitrovic played the ball on the edge of the area and it fell to Salem Al-Dawsari whose first-time, low shot headed smoothly into the bottom corner of the net.
Midway through the second half things almost got worse for the visitors when Leonardo broke into the penalty area and fired home from close range. However, the offside flag was up.
The home fans did not have too long to wait for a fourth goal. In the 73rd minute, Malcom did all the hard work on the right side before slipping the ball through to Portuguese international Joao Cancelo, who advanced to the near post and then pulled a pass across goal, where substitute Nasser Al-Dawsari made no mistake from the closest of range. He could not miss.
Another sub, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, came close to adding a fifth but the goalkeeper took the ball from his feet. Then a Cancelo shot from outside the area went just over the bar.
Right at the end, Al-Hilal did grab their fifth of the night and it was the best of the lot. Mohammed Kanno exchanged passes with Mohammed Al-Qahtani on the edge of the area and then bent the return into the top corner of the goal. It was the perfect end to a perfect evening.
On the evidence so far, with eight goals in two games and only one conceded, Al-Hilal are going to take some stopping.
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo insists he is focused on being the perfect team member at Saudi side Al-Nassr rather than collecting more individual accolades in the twilight of his career.
The 39-year-old, who has won the Ballon d’Or award five times, scored in Al-Nassr’s 2-1 win over Al-Rayyan of Qatar in their AFC Champions League Group B match on Monday.
It was the club’s fourth successive victory in all competitions under new coach Stefano Pioli, who replaced Luis Castro last month.
“It was a strong and difficult match like all the matches in the AFC Champions League, but the most important thing is that we created many chances and defended well to prevent the opponent from creating easy chances,” Ronaldo told a press conference.
“It is not important anymore whether I am the best or not, I no longer care about that. It is good for a player to score goals, but for me it is better for the team to win.
“I am used to breaking records and I no longer look for them. The most important thing for me now is to enjoy and help Al-Nassr and my teammates to win.”
Ronaldo became the top scorer in a single season in the Saudi Pro League last May with 35 goals.
The Portugal captain also scored his 901st career goal in a 2-1 win over Scotland in the Nations League last month.
“My goal against Al-Rayyan was different and important because my father would have been happy with it if he was alive, as today (yesterday) is his birthday,” the former Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United forward added.
RIYADH: Champions Al-Hilal returned to the top of the Saudi Pro League table after beating Al-Kholood 4-2 in Rass on Saturday night.
The visitors surged into a four-goal lead in a devastating 10 -minute period either side of half-time thanks to goals from Khalidou Koulibaly (38), Malcom (43), Ali Al-Bulaihi (45+3) and Renan Lodi (48),
Al-Kholood belatedly rallied to half the deficit with goals from Hammam Al-Hammami (71) and William Troost-Ekong (penalty, 87) which ultimately proved nothing more than consolation efforts.
Al-Hilal now lead the table with 15 points from five matches and are the last team in the Saudi Pro League with a perfect start to the 2024-2025 season.
In the day’s other matches visitors Al-Okhdood beat Al-Fateh 4-2 in Al-Mubarraz, while Al-Orobah managed a narrow 1-0 win over Damac at home.
RIYADH: Reigning champions Al-Nassr kicked off their defense of the Saudi Women’s Premier League title with a 3-1 win over AlUla in Riyadh on Friday night.
It was one of three matches that got the 2024-25 season underway, with AlUla shocking the home team when they took the lead through Jaine Lemke on 23 minutes. However, Clara Luvanga equalized for Al-Nassr five minutes later to ensure the teams went into half-time on level terms.
Second half goals from Ruth Kipoyi (52) and Lina Boussaha (64) completed Al-Nassr’s comeback.
Meanwhile, Al-Shabab defeated Al-Taraji 4-0 at Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium in Al-Qatif with goals from Fatima Al-Sadah (9), Nataša Andonova (40, 63) and Al-Bandari Mubarak (76).
In Friday’s third match, Al-Ahli completed a comprehensive 6-2 win over Al-Amal at King Fahad Sport City Stadium in Taif to top the table with two more matches remaining in the opening round.
Al-Ahli’s goals came from a hat-trick by Naomie Kabakaba (11, 18, 87) and one each by Elodie Nakkach (45), Ayah Al-Majali (64) and Alice Kusi (71). Al-Amal’s consolation strikes came from Mariam Sidibe (74) and Stephanie Gbogou Tape (85).
On Saturday night, Al-Hilal will welcome Eastern Flames to Inaya Medical Colleges Stadium in Riyadh, while Al-Ittihad will play host to Al-Qadsiah in Jeddah.
RIYADH: Neymar is not ready for an imminent return to play for Al-Hilal, the club’s head coach has announced.
The Brazilian star signed for the Riyadh team in August 2023 but played just five games when he underwent surgery after rupturing his meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee while on international duty in October.
After Neymar, 32, returned to training in July, speculation grew that he was close to a return but coach Jorge Jesus dampened expectations in a post-match media conference.
“Neymar is an important player for Al-Hilal and the league in general,” Jesus, who led Al-Hilal to a 19th league title in May, said on Tuesday. “I can’t, however, specify a date as to when he will return but we will look at the situation in January.”
Neymar will be able to be registered by Al-Hilal in January for the second half of the Saudi Pro League (SPL ) season.
With SPL teams allowed to register a maximum of eight foreign players over the age of 21, Neymar’s place in the roster for the first half of the league campaign was taken by Marcos Leonardo, signed from Benfica earlier in September.
Upon return to fitness Neymar, whose two-year contract ends next August, is eligible, however, to appear in Al-Hilal’s ongoing AFC Champions League Elite campaign as the continental competition has no restrictions on the number of foreign players allowed.
