Match-week five in the 2020\/21 Saudi Professional League contained a series of impressive individual performances.
\nFrom irrepressible ex-France centre forward Bafetimbi Gomis making the difference in a tense 2-0 derby win for Al Hilal, to 20-year-old Al Fateh right-back Nawaf Boushal underlining abundant promise in the 4-0 rout of Ettifaq.
\nHere, with the help of Wyscout and SofaScore, is our team of the week:
\nGK: Habib Al Wotayan (Al Hilal)
\nDebuts are rarely more satisfying than this. An all-Riyadh clash could not unsettle the 24-year-old, whose superb stops from Morocco winger Nordin Amrabat and Saudi Arabia right-back Sultan Al Ghanem helped condemn Hilal\u2019s fallen neighbours to a fourth defeat from five SPL fixtures.
\nRB: Nawaf Boushal (Al Fateh)
\nA dynamic goal from a dynamic player. Boushal\u2019s boundless energy witnessed him steal the ball near the halfway line, bamboozle several markers and find the bottom corner from inside the penalty box. Remember the name.
\nCB: Iago Santos (Al Taawoun)
\nThe Brazilian won six out of seven aerial duels when Al Taawoun edged Al Wehda 1-0, for just a second SPL win in 13 fixtures. This percentage (86 per cent) is his best recorded in eight appearances since July\u2019s move from Moreirense.
\nCB: Ahmed Hegazy (Al Ittihad)
\nOn-loan West Bromwich Albion colossus exuded calm at the heart of the Ittihad defence and was blameless when Guilherme produced a fine leveller for Al Faisaly at the death.
\nLB: Tawfiq Buhimed (Al Fateh)
\nThe reliable 33-year-old was the perfect foil for fellow Fateh full-back Boushal. Did his fair share of defensive work, plus produced one of the assists of the season for Ali Al Zaqan\u2019s first. He stole the ball close to his own goal, charged onwards and then pinged a delightful ball to his grateful team-mate.
\nCM: Saphir Taider (Al Ain)
\nThe former Inter Milan and Montreal Impact midfielder\u2019s impact grows by the week. A first-ever three-point haul for promoted employers in the top flight was definitively secured with his 94th-minute spot-kick in the 2-0 triumph at fellow strugglers Damac. The Algeria all-rounder recorded 86-per-cent pass accuracy and made three interceptions.
\n View this post on Instagram A post shared by Saphir Taider (@saphirtaider_officiel)
\nCM: Arnaud Djoum (Al Raed)
\nThis was a display to savour from the Cameroon star. His incisive throughball was emphatically lashed in by Ahmed Al Zaein for the first, while Djoum\u2019s winning back of possession sparked Mohamed Fouzair\u2019s close-range clincher in the 2-1 triumph against Abha.
\nCM: Marko Marin (Al Ahli Jeddah)
\nThe former Germany playmaker\u2019s influence continues to develop at King Abdullah Sports City. Forcefully punished Lithuania goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis\u2019 woeful clearance in the 50th minute to earn a 2-2 stalemate with fellow high-flyers Al Shabab.
\nRW: Ali Al Zaqan (Al Fateh)
\nThe phrase \u201cmaking your own luck\u201d springs to mind. Al Zaqan moved onto three goals in five SPL matches with a brace which owed much to Ettifaq\u2019s inadequacies. A fierce shot first squirmed through goalkeeper Mohammed Al Haiti\u2019s grasp, before smashing home once an attempt to play out from defence by Estonia centre-back Karol Mets backfired.
\nCF: Bafetimbi Gomis (Al Hilal)
\nGomis\u2019 legend in the blue half of the capital continues to grow. Now sits on five goals and two assists in five run-outs versus Nassr, after his nerveless opener from the penalty spot on the hour mark and helping hand for substitute Saleh Al Shehri\u2019s 98th-minute second.
\nLW: Guilherme (Al Faisaly)
\nThe 25-year-old\u2019s opening SPL goal of the season was a memorable one, curling into the far corner in the 92nd minute to earn a 1-1 draw. This maintained Faisaly\u2019s unbeaten start to 2020\/21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Match-week five in the 2020\/21 Saudi Professional League contained a series of impressive individual performances.
\nFrom irrepressible ex-France centre forward Bafetimbi Gomis making the difference in a tense 2-0 derby win for Al Hilal, to 20-year-old Al Fateh right-back Nawaf Boushal underlining abundant promise in the 4-0 rout of Ettifaq.
\nHere, with the help of Wyscout and SofaScore, is our team of the week:
\nGK: Habib Al Wotayan (Al Hilal)
\nDebuts are rarely more satisfying than this. An all-Riyadh clash could not unsettle the 24-year-old, whose superb stops from Morocco winger Nordin Amrabat and Saudi Arabia right-back Sultan Al Ghanem helped condemn Hilal\u2019s fallen neighbours to a fourth defeat from five SPL fixtures.
\nRB: Nawaf Boushal (Al Fateh)
\nA dynamic goal from a dynamic player. Boushal\u2019s boundless energy witnessed him steal the ball near the halfway line, bamboozle several markers and find the bottom corner from inside the penalty box. Remember the name.
\nCB: Iago Santos (Al Taawoun)
\nThe Brazilian won six out of seven aerial duels when Al Taawoun edged Al Wehda 1-0, for just a second SPL win in 13 fixtures. This percentage (86 per cent) is his best recorded in eight appearances since July\u2019s move from Moreirense.
\nCB: Ahmed Hegazy (Al Ittihad)
\nOn-loan West Bromwich Albion colossus exuded calm at the heart of the Ittihad defence and was blameless when Guilherme produced a fine leveller for Al Faisaly at the death.
\nLB: Tawfiq Buhimed (Al Fateh)
\nThe reliable 33-year-old was the perfect foil for fellow Fateh full-back Boushal. Did his fair share of defensive work, plus produced one of the assists of the season for Ali Al Zaqan\u2019s first. He stole the ball close to his own goal, charged onwards and then pinged a delightful ball to his grateful team-mate.
\nCM: Saphir Taider (Al Ain)
\nThe former Inter Milan and Montreal Impact midfielder\u2019s impact grows by the week. A first-ever three-point haul for promoted employers in the top flight was definitively secured with his 94th-minute spot-kick in the 2-0 triumph at fellow strugglers Damac. The Algeria all-rounder recorded 86-per-cent pass accuracy and made three interceptions.
\n View this post on Instagram A post shared by Saphir Taider (@saphirtaider_officiel)
\nCM: Arnaud Djoum (Al Raed)
\nThis was a display to savour from the Cameroon star. His incisive throughball was emphatically lashed in by Ahmed Al Zaein for the first, while Djoum\u2019s winning back of possession sparked Mohamed Fouzair\u2019s close-range clincher in the 2-1 triumph against Abha.
\nCM: Marko Marin (Al Ahli Jeddah)
\nThe former Germany playmaker\u2019s influence continues to develop at King Abdullah Sports City. Forcefully punished Lithuania goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis\u2019 woeful clearance in the 50th minute to earn a 2-2 stalemate with fellow high-flyers Al Shabab.
\nRW: Ali Al Zaqan (Al Fateh)
\nThe phrase \u201cmaking your own luck\u201d springs to mind. Al Zaqan moved onto three goals in five SPL matches with a brace which owed much to Ettifaq\u2019s inadequacies. A fierce shot first squirmed through goalkeeper Mohammed Al Haiti\u2019s grasp, before smashing home once an attempt to play out from defence by Estonia centre-back Karol Mets backfired.
\nCF: Bafetimbi Gomis (Al Hilal)
\nGomis\u2019 legend in the blue half of the capital continues to grow. Now sits on five goals and two assists in five run-outs versus Nassr, after his nerveless opener from the penalty spot on the hour mark and helping hand for substitute Saleh Al Shehri\u2019s 98th-minute second.
\nLW: Guilherme (Al Faisaly)
\nThe 25-year-old\u2019s opening SPL goal of the season was a memorable one, curling into the far corner in the 92nd minute to earn a 1-1 draw. This maintained Faisaly\u2019s unbeaten start to 2020\/21.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1858,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1857\/revisions\/1858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}