Australian Ange Postecoglou, Al-Nasr coach, expressed his frustration after his team’s loss to Al-Ittihad, noting that the humble start during the first minutes cost his team a lot, while he expressed his satisfaction with the reaction of his players in the rest of the confrontation.
“It is disappointing to lose,” Postecoglou said in the press conference after the match. We did not start the confrontation well, especially in the first 15 minutes, but in the second half we saw our true potential, and we could have scored many goals, but we did not succeed.”
Regarding his decision to include Nawaf Al-Aqidi as a starter, he said: “Nawaf started the match because he was ready. I have two good goalkeepers and I chose the goalkeeper I saw as suitable for the confrontation.”
In response to a question about not starting Abdullah Al-Khaibari alongside Samu Costa in a big confrontation as big as Al-Ittihad, he explained: “We have many options, and I do not think that the problem was that, but rather that we did not start the match correctly. In the second half, we created many chances but were unsuccessful, and this reflects that we performed well. “When you play outside your stadium against a strong opponent and with the support of their fans, this may happen. We rushed through some things, and after we calmed down, things became better.”
Al-Nasr coach refused to hold his players responsible for the missed opportunities, and said: “The chances we had were blocked by Al-Ittihad’s goalkeeper, and our players did not waste them.” This is football and such things happen, but in the corner kicks we did not succeed in delivering the ball as required.”
He added: “In the second half, Al-Ittihad had no real chances, while we reached their goal at least five times, and if we had scored the equalizer, the match would have been different. The players gave everything they had, and I cannot ask for more than that.”
Regarding the team’s repeated confusion at the beginning of matches and conceding early goals, Postecoglou said: “A good observation, but every match has its own different circumstances. Al-Ittihad started with great energy, and sometimes it happens that the focus is less, and if we look at each confrontation separately, we will find that the reasons are different, but our team’s reaction every time is better.”
The Al-Nasr coach concluded his speech by saying: “What I saw was that after the 15th minute there was one team creating chances, which was Al-Nasr. “What the players did last season and what they are doing this season confirms that they have character.”
The fifth round of the Saudi Professional League witnessed a scoring tally of 20 goals, including 4 penalty kicks, in a week that witnessed two expulsions: Oscar Rodriguez from Diriyah and Younis Al-Bahrawi from Al-Taawoun.
Al-Ittihad made the event happen in El Clásico after it succeeded, for the first time in the history of its confrontations against Al-Nasr in the professional league, in scoring two goals within the first 22 minutes of the match, which ended with Al-Ameed winning 2-1, inflicting the first loss this season on the defending champion.
Al-Hilal, the leaders, continued to write history after surpassing its previous record, as it raised its tally to 47 consecutive matches without loss in the professional league (35 victories and 12 draws), surpassing its previous series (46 matches), to become a few steps away from the historical record recorded in the name of Al-Ahly (51 matches), after defeating Al-Shabab with a clean double.
For its part, Al-Ahly presented a remarkable attacking display, beating Riyadh’s net 5-0, which witnessed the scoring of 3 goals in the first half by 3 different foreigners, Ivan Toni, Edward Spretsyan, and Trincao, in an incident that occurred for the team for the first time in the competition since the 2009-2010 season.
NEOM also recorded a historic record by leading by 3 goals at the end of the first half for the first time in its career in the tournament.
In the context of individual numbers, Serbian Sergei Savic, Al Hilal player, appointed Al-Shabab Club as his favorite opponent in the competition by reaching goal number 5 (out of only 10 shots on goal), exceeding his tally against Al-Akhdood (4 goals).
Al-Ahly striker Ivan Toni continued to be the player who took the most penalty kicks and scored the most penalties in the professional league during the year 2026, with 11 goals out of 12 kicks taken.
In Al-Fayhaa, Hugo Moura scored the third-fastest goal in the league this season at the minute (4:02) against Al-Khuloud, and the fastest for his club in the competition since December 2022.
In a strange digital paradox, Al-Taawoun took 13 shots against Al-Fateh without directing any of them on goal (for the first time since the match with Al-Nasr in January 2026), despite scoring the highest expected goals value (1.40 xG) in a match in which he did not shoot on goal.
In terms of fans, the Al-Ittihad and Al-Nasr summit was topped with 47,661 fans, followed by the Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal match with 12,160 spectators, then the Al-Ahly and Riyadh match with 7,101 fans in attendance, then the Diriyah and Al-Qadisiyah match with 4,970 fans.
Al-Ittihad won the great El Clasico challenge at the Radiant Jewel Stadium in front of Al-Nasr, and snatched the match points with an exciting double 2-1 in the fifth round of the Saudi Professional League.
The German coach Vissing excelled in presenting a combative and impressive version of Al-Ittihad, turning the tables on the Scottish expert Postico Glow, who tried to catch up with the result to no avail.
George Ilyenichina scored two goals in the first half to lead Al-Ittihad to victory over its guest, Al-Nassr, which suffered its first defeat in the Saudi Professional League this season. The match was exciting from the start, and the host took the lead in the fourth minute through the Nigerian player, who put the ball into the net from close range.
In the 22nd minute, Ilyinichina scored the second goal after jumping high and touching the ball with his foot in the air to put it into the net. Although Al-Nasr player Angelo reduced the gap 9 minutes before the end of the first half, and the visitors had many opportunities after the break, Al-Ittihad maintained their lead thanks to the brilliance of their goalkeeper Rajkovic to achieve their third victory this season, raising their score to 11 points in fourth place. As for Al-Nasr, its score froze at 12 points after starting the season with four consecutive victories in second place, with a difference of 3 points behind Al-Hilal, which was alone at the top. The match started strong, and in the second minute, Al-Nasr player Cristiano Ronaldo fired a low shot from outside the penalty area, but it fell weakly into the arms of goalkeeper Rajkovic.
After only two minutes, the response came from Al-Ittihad, which took the lead through Ilyinichina, who played a header from close range into the net, taking advantage of a ball bouncing off the post after a powerful shot from Steven Bergwijn. Danilo Pereira almost scored the second goal with a header from close range, but his attempt went over the crossbar in the 15th minute. Ilinykhina succeeded in doubling his team's lead in the 22nd minute with an acrobatic touch after a pass from Houssem Aouar, completing a series of passes that started from the back line. The video assistant referee technology confirmed the validity of the goal, and Gabriel, the Al-Nasr player, reduced the difference in the 36th minute when he pounced on a rebound from goalkeeper Rajkovic, who blocked an attempt by Joao Felix, who was alone on the goal, benefiting from a perfect pass from Ronaldo, who did not handle a cross pass from Sadio Mane inside the area minutes earlier.
Al-Ittihad's pressure continued in the second half, and Al-Nasr goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi blocked a low shot from Awar, who penetrated the penalty area in the 49th minute. From a direct free kick on the left side, Felix fired a powerful shot that was blocked by goalkeeper Rajkovic in the 54th minute. Ronaldo fired a powerful shot from inside the penalty area in a quick attack, but Rajkovic was on the lookout for it, and Angelo did not handle the rebound in the 58th minute. Rajkovic shone again by blocking a header from Samuel Costa from close range after 5 minutes. In stoppage time, Rajkovic headed in a close-range shot from Sadio Mane.
