Roberto Firmino made a strong start to the Saudi Pro League season by scoring on the opening match day for the second consecutive campaign, helping Al-Ahli secure a 2-0 victory over Al-Orobah at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah.
Al-Ahli opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when 21-year-old Abdulkarim Darsi capitalized on a loose ball in the penalty area after a shot by Franck Kessie was saved by Al-Orobah's goalkeeper, Gaetan Coucke. Despite this early lead, the score remained unchanged by halftime.
Al-Orobah came close to equalizing three minutes into the second half, but a VAR decision ruled out their goal. They continued to challenge Al-Ahli but were unable to find the back of the net. Firmino, the Brazilian star and former Liverpool player, sealed the victory for Al-Ahli with a close-range finish from Kessie's right-wing cross 10 minutes before the end of the match.
In other matches, newly promoted Al-Qadsiah, featuring new Real Madrid signing Nacho in his Saudi Pro League debut, defeated Al-Fateh 3-0 at Prince Saud bin Jalawi Stadium. Julian Quinones was the star for Al-Qadsiah, scoring twice (in the 34th and 90+2 minutes), with Abdulaziz Al-Othman adding another goal in the 73rd minute.
Meanwhile, Al-Khaleej secured a narrow 1-0 win over Damac, thanks to an own goal by Dhari Al-Anazi in the 16th minute, securing all three points in their opening match of the season.