Chairway to Glory: Ronaldo and Al-Dosri Duel in the Saudi Pro League
9 November 2025
Round 8 Highlights
The Roshen Saudi Pro League continued its surge into round eight with a weekend packed with goals across three days, from Thursday, November 6, to Saturday, November 8.
Every fixture yielded at least one scoreline, keeping the title race tightly bunched and underscoring the league’s high-octane nature.
Gulf beat host Al-Hazem 4-1, Qadisiyah over Al-Khlood 4-0, Riyadh drew 1-1 with Damac, Al-Fayha defeated Al-Od 2-0, Taawoun beat Al-Fath 5-2, and Al Hilal handed Al Najmah a 4-2 defeat.
Al Nassr then triumphed 3-1 against Neom, while Al Shabab shared a 1-1 draw with Al Ettifaq. In the Jeddah derby, Al Ahli edged Al Ittihad 1-0 to cap a dramatic weekend.
Ronaldo and Al-Dosri in the Spotlight
In the musical chairs metaphor of the weekend, Salem Al-Dosri bagged a brace as Al Hilal beat Al Najmah, pushing his league tally to 82, tying Cristiano Ronaldo for fifth on the all-time list behind Suma, Hamdallah, Shammarni, and Sahlawi.
Ronaldo answered with a goal from the spot the following day in a 3-1 victory over Neom, lifting his league total to 83 and reclaiming a solo fifth place, while Al-Dosri slipped to sixth overall.
Al-Dosri also stood out with assists, reaching 62 goal involvements as he extended his run to 15 consecutive goals or assists in the season.
Ronaldo’s contribution numbers climbed to a cumulative 100 across scoring and assisting in the league, underscoring a sustained impact in the Saudi top flight.
Milestones and Derby Sparks
Riyad Mahrez marked his first goal of the season in a 1-0 win over Al Ittihad in a classic Derby clash in Jeddah, adding to his 11 goals in 32 appearances in 2023-24 at the league level.
Al Ahli’s continued form saw them extend their positive run against Al Ittihad, as the two giants traded results, with Ahli maintaining healthy momentum this campaign.
Joao Felix continued to shine for Al Nassr, boosting his tally to 10 goals and keeping pace at the top of the league scoring charts, just one behind Ronaldo and a rival in nearby company, Joshua King.
Match reports also noted Felix’s impressive productivity—16 appearances, 14 goals, and two assists across all competitions, a higher rate than last season’s Paris/Stadium stints.
Closing the Neom Chapter
With Neom’s challenge subsiding after a 1-3 defeat, the league heads into a new international break with Al Nassr preparing for a stern test against Al Khalij in the next round.
That upcoming clash will mark the 13th meeting between the sides in the league, where the balance tilts slightly in favor of Al Nassr (eight wins to three for Al Khalij, with three draws)—a reminder that even a musical chairs game has favorites.
The round also underscored the league’s July-to-December tempo as teams jockey for position heading into the international window, keeping fans hooked as star names push for more headlines.
Punchlines, coming up: Sniper mode engaged—these players don’t miss; they gridiron the goal and bench the chair with equal poise. And if chairs could talk, they’d beg for a timeout when Ronaldo and Al-Dosri step onto the pitch.
Another one: In Saudi football, the chair may spin, but the net always wins. So take a seat, because the next round promises more precision, power, and a few more goals to score and chairs to steal.
