In the end, after 90-plus minutes, a disallowed goal, plenty of action and even a late, late sending-off, a pair of Roshn Saudi League title rivals had to settle for a stalemate.
“I think nobody wanted to lose today,” Al Hilal defender Kalidou Koulibaly said following the goalless draw with Al Ahil on Monday night, the Senegal star marking his return to the team with a Man of Match display. “So it’s a good draw.
“We’re going to keep on going our way to be champion, but I hope that we’re going to win the next game to be high in the classification.”
Albeit a third successive draw, that perceived positive point moved Al Hilal back to the top of the table, where they lead Riyadh rivals Al Nassr by one.
Al Ahli, whose superb eight-match winning streak ended at Kingdom Arena, remain three points back in third, while fourth-placed Al Qadsiah have the chance on Tuesday to reduce their gap to the summit to four.
For Koulibaly, returning to the Al Hilal line-up following success with Senegal at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the clean sheet was one of personal pride, too.
Chiefly, he kept at bay the on-fire Ivan Toney, the RSL January Player of the Month who had rattled in 13 goals in his previous eight top-flight matches. Toney sits top of the 2025-26 RSL scoring charts, a haul that included two goals against Koulibaly’s Al Hilal the last time the teams met, in that epic, back in September.
Shackling Toney this time, therefore, was of particular pleasure.
“Yes, because the coach [Simone Inzaghi] was not happy before the game, because we play one time against them and Toney scored two goals,” Koulibaly said. “And [Inzaghi] was not happy with me, so I wanted to show him that I’m here and show to help the team, because I’ve just come back.
“I want to help the team to win this league. I know that is really difficult, that the way is really long, so we’re going to see what happens in the future.
“But we are going to do everything for the supporters, for all the Hilali fans and for the Hilal community to win this league, God willing.”
Much has changed in the RSL since Koulibaly last played. First, Al Hilal chased down Al Nassr at the summit – including a thumping win in the Capital Derby – before building a seven-point lead at the summit.
Al Ahli and Al Qadsiah then stormed into the mix, part of a picture that saw Al Hilal eventually relinquish top spot, temporarily on Monday, once more to Al Nassr.
However, even given the capricious nature of this gripping, multi-club title race, Koulibaly isn’t panicking just yet.
“No, this is football,” he said. “We have to keep on going. We have to keep on watching our way.
“We don’t have to look at the other teams. We know that it is difficult because it’s three games that we draw, but we’re going to continue because we know that we are capable to win every game until the end – and we’re going to make it.”
Koulibaly’s counterpart at Al Ahli, Roger Ibanez, rued an opportunity spurned to pull level with Al Hilal, especially for his part in that, when he somehow sent a free header off target – one he’d typically score.
But, like Koulibaly, the Brazilian wasn’t getting too carried away with where the result, coming only in Matchweek 20, leaves the chase for the championship.
“Of course, we want to be in the top of the table; we want to be in the top of the league,” Ibanez said. “Our goal in the club is to always try to be as good as possible, to always try to win the matches.
“For sure, we know that we have great teams to face. But, if we continue the way we are, we can reach our goal.”