English top scorer Ivan Toney, Al-Ahly striker, continued his brilliance in the Saudi Professional League, after scoring his 11th goal during the first eight rounds of the season, equaling the number achieved by Syrian Omar Al-Somah with an Al-Ahly shirt in the 2016-2017 season, confirming his presence at the forefront of the offensive scene, and giving his team additional strength in the local competition.
Tony's brilliance is not limited to the number of goals scored, as he tops the list of top scorers in the "League" with 11 goals, and is also unique in the top scoring contributions with 12 contributions, after he added a decisive pass to his record, an indication of his direct influence on Al-Ahly's offensive effectiveness, during the past rounds.
The English striker provides remarkable numbers in various scoring conditions, as he scored 7 goals excluding penalty kicks, in addition to scoring 4 goals from the penalty spot, topping the list of players who scored the most from free kicks of this type, according to the numbers recorded until the end of the eighth round.
Tony also tops the list of players who have scored the most doubles, having achieved this in 3 matches, in addition to scoring one “hat-trick”, while he scored 7 goals at home for his team, and 4 goals outside of it, which reflects his continued scoring presence on all fronts.
Italian Giovanni Solinas, coach of Al-Faisaly, stressed the importance of his team facing Abha in the eighth round of the Saudi Professional League competitions.
Giovanni said in a press conference: “Every team is looking for points in the match and improving its position in the rankings. A competitive match from my point of view. Abha is a strong and difficult team, and its level is close to Al-Faisaly, especially since it strengthened its ranks with Cameroonian Nkoudou before the break, but Al-Faisaly is ready in all aspects to return with match points.”
Regarding the readiness of the injured Abdullah Al-Muqrin and striker Youssef Al-Muzayrib, as well as Abdul Rahman Al-Safari, the new player in Al-Faisaly’s ranks, he said: “I will start with you with the new player Abdul Rahman Al-Safari. After signing with him, he did not undergo any preparation, and thus this affected his physical condition, but he improved in training with the team, and I admire him very much and he is ready for the match. As for striker Youssef Al-Shammari, he is also ready. As for Abdullah Al-Muqrin, he is in the final stages of recovery from his injury.”
He added: “Defender Hussein Al-Zarai is the only one suffering from injury after Al-Raed’s friendly match.”
Italian coach Simone Inzaghi of Al Hilal confirmed that a difficult and important confrontation awaits them against Al-Ittihad, describing it as a Saudi Classico.
Inzaghi said in the press conference that preceded the match: It is a match against the Saudi Football Clasico, and it is very important. It brings together the first and second-place finishers, and we are ready for the match, especially after the return of the international players.
He added: After the last training session, we will see the readiness of all the players. Salem Al-Dosari and Theo Hernandez participated in training in the past three days, and as for those returning from the Saudi national team, we will evaluate their condition after today’s training to find out the extent of their readiness to play the match.
Regarding Nasser Al-Dosari’s outstanding performance in the Gulf Championship, he said: Nasser is a great player and a respected star, and last season he suffered an injury that affected him, but I am happy now with the performance he is providing, and I am also happy with the wonderful appearance of Mohammed Al-Owais in the Gulf Cup, and he is one of the important players who make the difference.
Regarding the possibility of Salem Al-Dosari, the team leader, participating in the Al-Ittihad match after recovering from injury and returning to training, he said: Salem Al-Dossari is very enthusiastic in training after his return from injury, and today after training we will see the possibility of his presence as a main player or on the bench.
Regarding the pressure of the matches awaiting his team this month, Inzaghi replied: The pressure facing all teams in the coming period, and we will evaluate together with the technical staff the performance of the players in the upcoming matches, to know the management of confrontations in light of the successive matches.
Inzaghi extended his congratulations to the Saudi national team after winning the Gulf Cup, saying: I congratulate Al-Akhdar on winning the title, and specifically Denis because he is a great and wonderful coach, and I also congratulate all the players on winning the title.
