Top 5 Saudi Pro League Highlights in May: Al Ittihad’s Title Triumph, Relegation Fight, and Ronaldo Scoring Triumphs
With the title destination decided and the relegation fight going down to the wire, May has thrown up exciting matchups and events that have been defining to the season as a whole and added to the excitement and quality of the Saudi Pro League. Here are the top five football news items from the league in the last month.
Al Ittihad Title Triumph
Al Ittihad are the Saudi Pro League’s champions following their title-clinching win at Al Raed on Thursday, May 15th.
The Jeddah side, who were champions three seasons ago, reclaimed their crown and ended the dominance of the Saudi Pro League by Al Hilal. Goals by Steven Bergwijn, Danilo Pereira, and Abdulrahman Al Obud were key to the win away from home and sealing a brilliant title with two matches remaining to play in the season.
With 33 matches played, Al Ittihad have 25 wins, 5 draws, and 3 losses. A points haul of 80 puts them 8 ahead of Al Hilal, with the defending champions having drawn 1-1 in their latest match against Al Wehda on Wednesday, May 21st.
The title win marks a triumph for Laurent Blanc. The French tactician has been brilliant in setting up his side, who have scored 78 times and conceded 35 in the process, a defense-attack balance that has been instrumental in powering them to the title.
The Fight to Beat the Drop
Al Raed’s relegation has been confirmed. However, the other two sides that will join them in the drop are far from clear as the season comes to an end.
Between Al Fayha in 12th with 36 points and Al Okhdood in 17th with 28 points, there is fluidity as to the sides that will join Al Raed. Out of these six sides, Al Orobah have played 33 matches, and lost 3-1 at Al Qadsiah, which leaves them with 30 points and one match to play. The other five sides have two matches to play, which adds to the excitement.
With the Saudi Pro League title sealed by Al Ittihad, the month of May has seen eyes turn to a fraught fight for survival involving six sides as the campaign approaches its conclusion.
The Fight for the King of Clean Sheets
The month of May saw the emergence of the two contenders for the Golden Glove this season, Al Qadsiah’s Koen Casteel and Al Ahli’s Edouard Mendy.
With four matches in May so far, Koen Casteels and Al Qadsiah have kept just one clean sheet in the 0-1 win at Al Taawoun. This added his tally to 14, putting him at the top with one match remaining. This came after Al Qadsiah conceded at the death in their 3-1 win against Al Orobah on Tuesday.
With three matches so far in May, Edouard Mendy has also kept one clean sheet in Al Ahli’s 2-0 win at home to Al Taawoun. This added Mendy’s clean sheet haul to 13, one shy of leader Koen Casteel.
This fight will go down to the wire, with Koen Casteels having the edge going into matchday 34.
Ronaldo Keeps the Advantage in the Race for Top Scorer
The leaderboard has Cristiano Ronaldo leading the charts with 24 goals, followed by Karim Benzema, Ivan Toney, and Abderrazak Hamdallah, all with 21 goals, and Julian Quinones with 20 goals.
Ronaldo has kept the edge even after failing to play for Al Nassr so far in the month of May in the Saudi Pro League.
The last match the Portuguese played was in the 2-3 defeat of Al Nassr by Kawasaki in the AFC Champions League semi-final. He has missed the 2-3 defeat at home to Al Ittihad, the 0-9 win at Al Okhdood, and the 1-1 draw at home to Al Taawoun. He returned on matchday 33 to score a penalty in the 2-0 win against Al Khaleej.
The advantage Cristiano Ronaldo has over Benzema is that he has a 3-goal lead, and with only one match left, it will be challenging for the chasing pack to catch up with the four-time European Golden Shoe winner.
Goals Galore in the Saudi Pro League
The Saudi Pro League as a football product enhanced its standing in May as the excitement hit a crescendo with Al Ittihad sealing the title, Al Hilal fighting to seal second on the table, and the six-way fight to avoid relegation.
The highlight of the month was the 0-9 Al Nassr win at Al Okhdood. The match sticks out due to the sheer number of goals and the quality of play on display. The extenuating circumstance in the match is the red card to Paulo Vitor, which exposed the home side to further punishment.
But the match showed the attacking intent developing in the league. Elsewhere, Aleksandar Mitrović grabbed a last-minute goal to earn Al Hilal a 3-4 win at Al Fateh. This match is another highlight of the attacking intent in the Saudi Pro League.
These two matches represent a trend in the Saudi Pro League, which has seen an increase in the dynamism of the football on show, especially from the top sides. The upward trajectory of the quality of the game in the league this season forms a part of the long-term trend of the Saudi Pro League as a powerhouse of global football.
With some teams having one round to the end of the season and others two, the conclusion of May will bring an exciting end to the 2024/2025 Saudi Pro League season. However, even this close to the end, there is still a lot to play for for many teams.
