Al-Hilal beats Al-Ahli 2-0 in Saudi Pro League's season opener

Al-Hilal edge past Al-Ahli in season's first title-race showdown

Al-Hilal secured a 2-0 victory over Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League's opening heavyweight encounter, with new signing Ollie Watkins watching from the bench as goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Crysencio Summerville decided the Clasico at the Kingdom Arena.

Inzaghi springs selection surprises

Simone Inzaghi shocked supporters by benching England striker Watkins, who had been widely expected to start his debut following his reported £50 million transfer from Aston Villa. Instead, the Italian manager handed 18-year-old Ivorian Mohamed Kader Meite the central striking role, flanked by Summerville and Saudi Arabia's Sultan Al-Mundish.

Veteran midfielder Mohamed Kanno also found himself on the bench, with Nasser Al-Dawsari joining Ruben Neves of Portugal and Serbia's Milinkovic-Savic in the engine room. Fresh from injury, international defender Hassan Tambakti missed out, as Inzaghi turned to Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly and Ali Lajami at centre-back, with Mohamed Mahzari and France's Theo Hernandez completing the back line.

Al-Ahli drop Bondarenko amid fan anger

Al-Ahli manager Marino Pusic made his own bold call, excluding Ukrainian midfielder Artem Bondarenko from the squad entirely amid mounting supporter frustration following his performance in the 3-1 defeat to Al-Kholood. The Dutchman opted instead for Frenchman Valentin Atangana and Ziyad Al-Johani in midfield, behind Armenian playmaker Edvard Sperstyan.

England striker Ivan Toney led the Al-Ahli attack alongside Brazilian Galeno and Portuguese Francisco Trincao, with Saleh Abu Al-Shamat left on the bench. Toney had arrived in the Middle East two years ago and finished last season with 32 league goals, narrowly missing the Golden Boot to Julian Quinones on the final day, though he lifted a second Asian Champions League trophy. The 30-year-old entered the match with four goals from three games this season.

Match action and title implications

Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring with a right-footed strike from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal, assisted by Sultan Mandash's through ball. Summerville doubled the advantage with a left-footed effort from the left side of the box to the bottom left corner, set up by Neves.

Al-Ahli struggled to break down the hosts, with Toney firing a right-footed shot from the centre of the box too high, assisted by Spertsyan. Valentin Atangana had a header blocked, and Mohammed Sulaiman sent a left-footed effort from outside the box wide.

The fixture was a rescheduled clash from the third round of the Saudi Roshn League. Al-Hilal entered the match sitting second in the table with 9 points from 3 wins, while Al-Ahli occupied seventh place on 6 points, from two wins and a defeat. Both clubs are chasing defending champions Al-Nassr, who ended Al-Hilal's domestic dominance last season, a failure that has drawn sustained criticism of Inzaghi.

England strikers under Tuchel's gaze

The reunion of Watkins and Toney carried added significance beyond Saudi Arabia, with England head coach Thomas Tuchel expected to monitor the two forwards as they battle to establish themselves as understudy to Harry Kane in the new international cycle. The pair had spent 33 minutes on the pitch together in Miami as England defeated France 6-4 in a third-place match at the World Cup.

Watkins joins an Al-Hilal institution with 19 domestic league titles and four Asian Champions League trophies, a historically winning machine where second place is not tolerated for long. The club had scored nine goals in their first two league games before facing Al-Ahli.