Brendan Rodgers

RIYADH: With a FIFA Intercontinental Cup clash against Mamelodi Sundowns looming on Sept. 19, Al-Ahli fans have been plunged further into an alarming state of concern.

Just seven days after losing 3-0 to Al-Hilal in their first top-six clash of the season, on Tuesday night Marino Pusic’s side once again conceded three goals, this time to Brendan Rodgers’ Al-Qadsiah.

Al-Ahli have now lost three of their last four games, but even during the four-game winning streak (in all competitions) with which they began the season, many had started to feel the writing was on the wall; Pusic inherited the team late in the preseason and brought with him a football philosophy that often looks like a complete departure from that of outgoing manager Matthias Jaissle.

The 3-2 scoreline away to Al-Qadsiah might not look too worrying on paper but it was the nature of the defeat that will give Al-Ahli much to think about. They were simply outclassed by their opponents in the first 45 minutes, before Ivan Toney led a second-half rally that reduced the deficit but in the end was not enough to rescue a point.

Al-Ahli started the game with only one holding midfielder, Valentin Atangana, allowing Al-Qadsiah’s midfield trio of Julian Weigl, Tijjani Reijnders and Musab Al-Juwayr to overload the center of the pitch on several occasions, leaving the home side with a free player in the final third a number of times.

Such a situation was what led to Al-Qadsiah’s first goal when, in the 14th minute, Reijnders found himself in between Eduard Spertsyan and Galeno in the right half-space. The Dutch international only needed a few touches toward goal before he unleashed a belter of a shot toward the far corner, beating Edouard Mendy.

As Al-Qadsiah’s midfield trio continued to control the game, the wing-backs, Christopher Bonsu Baah and Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat, became the main beneficiaries of Al-Ahli’s narrow defensive focus. As the game entered added time at the end of the first half, Al-Juwayr released Bonsu Baah down the left and he delivered a low cross into the box that found Abu Al-Shamat, who was unmarked inside the Al-Ahli box and finished cleanly to extend the lead.

A third followed two minutes later, with that Al-Juwayr-to-Bonsu Baah connection once again tormenting Al-Ahli. This time they switched the ball to the right flank, where Abu Al-Shamat received the ball and delivered a dipping cross towards Reijnders, who headed home to complete his brace. Al-Ahli mixed things up with a number of substitutions in the second half, including the introduction of Saleh Abu Al-Shamat for Galeno.

And it was Saleh, facing off against his brother Mohammed on the left flank, who injected a renewed spirit into Al-Ahli’s attack with his movement. This ultimately led to Al-Ahli’s revival of sorts in the second half, spearheaded by the league’s top scorer, Toney.

In the 63rd minute, he got on the end of a diagonal cross from Francisco Trincao to finally beat goalkeeper Koen Casteels — who had made four saves up to that point — with a header.

Toney scored again in the 82nd minute, this time latching onto a through ball from Abu Al-Shamat before cutting inside and curling his effort beyond Casteels. The humidity in Dammam clearly had an effect on Al-Qadsiah, who by now had shifted their high-pressing 3-4-1-2 formation into a compact 5-3-2.

This was ultimately enough to hold off Toney and his teammates, and claim a fifth victory from their first six games, their best-ever start to a Saudi Pro League season. In Jeddah, Al-Ittihad followed up on their 2-1 home win against Al-Nassr on Saturday with an identical result, this time against visiting Al-Fayha.

Continuing his fine run of form, George Ilenikhena opened the scoring in the 43rd minute when he headed home the rebound from a Steven Bergwijn shot after it twice struck the crossbar. It was canceled out by Jason just before the half-time whistle, who redirected an Ahmed Bamasud cross with a deft backheel.

Al-Ittihad claimed the victory after Jason handled the ball inside the area in the 68th minute, prompting the referee to award a penalty following a review by the video assistant referee. Substitute Youssef En-Nesyri slotted the ball into the right corner.

Elsewhere, Al-Ettifaq were held to a goalless home draw by Al-Faisaly in what was an underwhelming evening for Arthur Papas’ side, while visiting Al-Taawoun were beaten 1-0 by Al-Hazem, after a mistake by goalkeeper Mailson gifted Aboubacar Bah an open goal in the third minute.

On Wednesday, Al-Kholood host Al-Shabab at 6:55 p.m., then Al-Fateh face visiting Diriyah and Al-Nassr are at home to Abha, with both matches kicking off at 9 p.m.