Six clubs in the Saudi League are without a win after seven rounds, and Al-Ittihad is the only club without a defeat

Six clubs entered the current pause period in the Saudi Professional League without being able to achieve any victory after seven rounds of the season, an early indication of the widening circle of suffering in the latter part of the ranking table.

Al-Khaleej leads this group with 5 points, collected from five draws, followed by Al-Shabab with four points, while Al-Fateh, Al-Faisaly and Al-Taawoun each have three points, and Abha is at the bottom of the standings with only two points.

The numbers reveal that the problem is no longer linked to a passing result or two rounds, as these clubs completed seven full matches without winning, before entering a long hiatus that gives the technical staff and departments ample space to re-evaluate the work before the resumption of competitions in October.

The greatest pressure will be on the teams that have only a limited margin in the ranking table, especially Abha, Al-Taawoun, Al-Fateh and Al-Faisaly, at a time when the stopping period may turn into a second preparation phase for the season, whether at the level of technical work, recovering the injured, or making changes within the technical staff.

The seventh round left Al-Shabab without a victory after its draw with Al-Fayhaa, and Al-Khaleej after its draw with Al-Nasr, while Al-Taawoun lost to Al-Hilal by six, Al-Fateh fell to NEOM 4-2, and Al-Faisaly lost to Al-Ittihad 3-1, while Abha came away with a point from its draw with Al-Diriyah.

Al-Ittihad finished the first seven rounds of the Saudi Professional League as the only team that did not suffer a loss this season, after a series of results that placed the team in second place, only one point behind leaders Al-Hilal.

Al-Ittihad collected 17 points from five wins and two draws, scored 12 goals and conceded six, to exit the first stage of the season with an unbeaten record.

Al-Ittihad’s uniqueness in this number came after all the teams that shared the record fell during the first rounds. Al-Ittihad itself inflicted the first loss on Al-Nasr, then Al-Hilal lost to NEOM, before Al-Khuloud fell to Riyadh in the seventh round.

The value of the number does not stop in the absence of a loss, as Al-Ittihad enters the stopping period only one point away from Al-Hilal, which has 18 points, and ahead of Al-Nasr and Al-Qadisiyah, which have 16 points each.

The pause period gives the technical staff of Al-Ittihad an opportunity to rearrange the team before returning to a crowded series of matches in October, but the challenge will be in maintaining the stability and format that made the team the only team in the competition so far to have finished seven rounds without a loss.

Dutch player Tijani Reynders, Al-Qadisiyah player, expressed his happiness with the victory at the beginning of his team’s campaign in the AFC Champions League for the Elite, pointing out the difficulty of the past period in light of the pressure of the matches and the high temperatures.

Al-Qadisiyah succeeded in making a perfect start after defeating Al-Wasl of the UAE 2-1 in the first round of the AFC Elite Champions League.

Reynders said in an exclusive interview with Asharq Al-Awsat: “Yes, I am happy with the result. “It was a difficult period with so many matches and in such hot weather, but I think we performed well, and it is a very good start for us in the AFC Champions League.”

Regarding his message to the fans of Al-Qadisiyah, he said: “They must continue to support us, because we feel their support. Thank you all".