Firmino settles battle of Liverpool luminaries as Al Ahli get back on track

Roberto Firmino’s second-half volley proved decisive as Al Ahli got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win at Al Ettifaq on Monday night.

On a night that boasted a strong Liverpool connection at the EGO Stadium in Dammam, the former Anfield forward’s fine low finish just after the hour put Al Ahli 2-0 up. Gabri Veiga had earlier given the visitors the lead right on the half hour, when the Spanish youngster ran onto Riyad Mahrez’s centre to curl his low effort past Al Ettifaq goalkeeper Marek Rodak.

The hosts, managed of course by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, did halve the deficit in the final minute of normal time, with Firmino’s former Liverpool teammate Georginio Wijnaldum latching onto Alvaro Medran’s through ball to slide his shot past Edouard Mendy and give Al Ettifaq faint hope.

However, Al Ahli held on to bounce back immediately from last week’s 1-0 defeat at Al Kholood, which brought their five-match winning streak to a conclusion. The win keeps Matthias Jaissle’s men fifth in the table although they are now level on points with fourth-placed Al Nassr.

As for Al Ettifaq, they fail to register back-to-back victories for the second successive time having defeated Damac 3-0 in Matchweek 15. Gerrard’s side, sixth last season, lie 11th, eight points of the top six.

Also on Monday, in the opening matchday of the RSL’s inaugural Legends Week, Al Fayha moved out of the relegation zone for the first time since Matchweek 6 courtesy of a 1-0 home win against Al Kholood.

Alejandro Pozuelo got the game’s only goal eight minutes into the second half as Al Fayha, with new manager Pedro Emanuel in charge, secured successive wins for the first time this season to climb into 14th. Al Kholood sit two spots and one point above them.

Elsewhere, Al Okhdood defeated Al Raed 2-0 in Buraidah thanks to a goal in either half from Juan Sebastian Pedroza and Christian Bassogog. The night did not end perfectly for the visitors, though, with Ibrahima Kone sent off deep into stoppage-time for a second bookable offence. The Mali forward received both yellow cards after the 90 minutes had elapsed.

Still, a fourth victory of the campaign moves Al Okhdood into 13th, while Al Raed drop to 15th.