RIYADH: The first major showdown of the SPL season took place on matchday 2, with Al-Qadsiah falling to Al-Ittihad at home in Dammam. What did we learn from the second matchday?
Brendan Rodgers’ Al-Qadsiah lack killer touch
It has been widely discussed in Saudi football circles — Al-Qadsiah are this season’s dark horses and, with Rodgers having a full summer of preparation behind him, this could be the year they break the traditional big four’s dominance.
However, a first home loss in 587 days to 10-man Al-Ittihad quickly put paid to talk of the knights of the Eastern Province being genuine title contenders. While they had four goals ruled out for offside, even the introduction of Tijjani Reijnders in the 57th minute did little to break down a resilient Al-Ittihad.
With the league’s top scorer in Julian Quinones and a talented team around him, the lack of a killer touch should be the least of Al-Qadsiah's worries — and yet, here we are.
