Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia: Tijjani Reijnders arrived at Al Qadsiah carrying the weight that comes with a major summer signing. Six matches into the Saudi Pro League season, he is beginning to justify it in the most direct way possible.
The Dutch midfielder scored twice as Al Qadsiah defeated Al Ahli 3-2 on Tuesday, surviving Ivan Toney’s second-half double and climbing to second place in the league table.
Reijnders struck in the 14th minute and again deep into first-half stoppage time. Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat scored between those goals, leaving Al Qadsiah 3-0 ahead before the interval.
Al Ahli refused to disappear. Toney scored in the 63rd minute and again in the 82nd, turning what had looked like a comfortable home victory into a tense finish.
Al Qadsiah held on.
That may be the most important part of the result.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have now won five of their opening six league matches, according to the official Saudi Pro League club page, and they are increasingly difficult to describe as anything other than genuine title challengers.
The Sports Encounter’s Matchweek 5 Saudi Pro League analysis had already highlighted Al Qadsiah’s rise. Beating Al Ahli strengthens that case considerably.
Al Qadsiah vs Al Ahli: Match at a Glance
| Match Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Competition | Saudi Pro League 2026-27 |
| Matchweek | 6 |
| Result | Al Qadsiah 3-2 Al Ahli |
| City | Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia |
| Al Qadsiah scorers | Tijjani Reijnders 14′, 45+3′; Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat 45+1′ |
| Al Ahli scorer | Ivan Toney 63′, 82′ |
| Shots | Al Qadsiah 8-12 Al Ahli |
| Shots on target | 6-6 |
| Possession | Al Qadsiah 56%-44% Al Ahli |
| Corners | Al Qadsiah 6-5 Al Ahli |
| Al Qadsiah position | 2nd |
| Al Ahli position | 7th |
Reijnders Is Becoming the Midfielder Al Qadsiah Built Around
When Al Qadsiah signed Reijnders from Manchester City in August, the transfer looked like a statement of intent.
The Saudi Pro League’s official announcement confirmed that he signed a five-year contract and arrived with a clear ambition to help take the club “to the highest level.”
He has wasted very little time making that ambition visible.
Reijnders scored on his first Saudi Pro League start against NEOM, a performance covered in The Sports Encounter’s analysis of Al Qadsiah’s 2-0 win over NEOM.
Against Al Ahli, his influence went further.
Two goals from midfield against one of the league’s most talented sides changes how opponents have to prepare for Al Qadsiah.
Reijnders is no longer simply helping the team progress possession.
He is becoming a direct scoring threat.
Al Qadsiah’s First Half Was Brutally Efficient
The hosts finished the entire match with only eight shots.
Six were on target.
Three became goals.
That level of efficiency explains why the game had already taken such a dramatic shape before halftime.
Reijnders opened the scoring after 14 minutes.
Al Ahli had time to recover but could not prevent the match from accelerating away from them late in the half.
Abu Al-Shamat doubled the lead in the first minute of stoppage time.
Two minutes later, Reijnders scored again.
Within a matter of moments, Al Ahli went from trailing narrowly to facing a 3-0 deficit.
Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat Punished Al Ahli at the Worst Possible Moment
The second goal may have been the most damaging psychologically.
At 1-0, Al Ahli still had an entire second half to change the game.
Abu Al-Shamat’s 45+1-minute strike altered that calculation.
Reijnders then made it even worse two minutes later.
That sequence left Al Ahli needing something exceptional after the break.
To their credit, they nearly produced it.
Ivan Toney Refused to Let the Match End Quietly
Toney scored twice in the second half and gave Al Ahli a genuine chance of rescuing the match.
His first goal arrived in the 63rd minute.
The second came in the 82nd.
That reduced the deficit to one and forced Al Qadsiah into a much more defensive closing stretch than Rodgers would have wanted.
Toney’s contribution should surprise nobody.
The England international scored more than 30 league goals last season and was among the leading contenders for the Saudi Pro League Player of the Season award. The official SPL awards shortlist highlighted the scale of his 2025-26 output.
His two goals here were not enough.
Al Ahli Created More but Paid for the First-Half Collapse
| Statistic | Al Qadsiah | Al Ahli |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 3 | 2 |
| Shots | 8 | 12 |
| Shots on target | 6 | 6 |
| Possession | 56% | 44% |
| Fouls | 16 | 14 |
| Yellow cards | 4 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 0 | 1 |
| Corners | 6 | 5 |
Al Ahli actually attempted more shots.
They matched Al Qadsiah with six efforts on target.
The decisive difference was when those chances became goals.
Al Qadsiah did their damage before halftime.
Al Ahli spent the rest of the match trying to repair it.
Rodgers Has Built a Team With More Than One Route to Goal
This has become one of Al Qadsiah’s most convincing qualities.
Mateo Retegui has already provided a central finishing presence.
Julián Quiñones remains one of the league’s most dangerous attackers.
Reijnders is now adding goals from midfield.
That combination was visible in Al Qadsiah’s 2-0 win over Diriyah, where Retegui and Quiñones scored within seven minutes of each other.
It was also evident against NEOM, when Reijnders and Retegui shared the goals.
Against Al Ahli, neither Retegui nor Quiñones had to carry the scoring burden.
Reijnders and Abu Al-Shamat did it instead.
That is the type of attacking distribution that makes a title challenge more sustainable.
The Al Ittihad Defeat Now Looks More Like a Correction Than a Warning
Al Qadsiah’s only league defeat came against Al Ittihad.
The Sports Encounter’s Al Ittihad-Al Qadsiah report showed how Rodgers’ side struggled to turn pressure into goals despite facing 10 men for part of the second half.
That match looked like an early reality check.
The response since then has been more important.
Al Qadsiah beat NEOM.
They beat Diriyah.
They stayed close to the league leaders.
Now they have beaten Al Ahli.
A title challenger does not need to avoid every defeat.
It needs to stop one defeat becoming a sequence.
Al Qadsiah have done that convincingly.
Second Place Is No Longer a Temporary Curiosity
The official Saudi Pro League currently lists Al Qadsiah second after six matches, with five victories.
That position matters because it now comes with enough supporting evidence to be taken seriously.
The Sports Encounter’s latest Saudi Pro League title-race analysis argued that calling Al Qadsiah outsiders was already becoming difficult.
This result makes that language even less appropriate.
They have elite attackers.
They have one of Europe’s most experienced coaches.
They have added a midfielder in Reijnders who can influence every phase of the game.
Most importantly, they are collecting points at the rate required to remain near the top.
Al Ahli’s Season Has Become Much Harder to Read
Al Ahli began strongly.
Toney scored another early-season hat-trick as they beat Abha 4-0, and their attacking ceiling looked extremely high.
The Saudi Pro League itself highlighted that performance after Matchweek 2.
Then came the 3-1 defeat against Al Kholood.
The Sports Encounter’s Matchweek 5 review showed how Al Ahli responded by scoring five and restoring some attacking confidence.
Now they have conceded three again.
That inconsistency is becoming the bigger story.
Toney Can Keep Scoring and Al Ahli Can Still Have a Structural Problem
Two goals from Toney make the final score look competitive.
They should not erase what happened before halftime.
Al Ahli conceded three times in 31 minutes.
Two of those goals arrived in stoppage time.
A team with championship ambitions cannot repeatedly rely on its striker to repair defensive damage.
Toney’s value is obvious.
The question is whether Al Ahli can create a structure around him that reduces how often they need rescue acts.
Al Qadsiah’s Efficiency Was the Real Difference
Eight shots produced three goals.
Six shots on target produced three goals.
That is extremely efficient.
Al Ahli produced 12 shots and the same number on target.
They scored twice.
The margins were small statistically.
The timing was not.
Al Qadsiah’s three goals arrived before halftime and gave them a cushion large enough to absorb Toney’s response.
The Result Also Strengthens the Saudi Pro League’s Competitive Depth
The traditional hierarchy is becoming less reliable.
Al Qadsiah have invested heavily.
NEOM are building aggressively.
Al Kholood have already taken points from major clubs.
The Sports Encounter’s analysis of the league’s growing competitive depth showed how fewer matches can now be treated as automatic wins.
Al Qadsiah are the clearest example of that shift.
They are no longer threatening the old order theoretically.
They are doing it in the table.
The Club’s Ownership and Investment Ambition Is Showing on the Pitch
Saudi football’s broader transformation has created opportunities for clubs outside the traditional four to build serious sporting projects.
The Sports Encounter’s analysis of Saudi football’s ownership restructuring examined how investment, governance and club development are reshaping the competitive map.
Al Qadsiah fit directly into that story.
The club’s summer recruitment included Reijnders and other significant additions, all documented in the official Saudi Pro League transfer tracker.
The results are beginning to justify the ambition.
Al Ahli Still Have Enough Quality to Recover Quickly
The defeat should not be treated as a collapse of their season.
Al Ahli remain one of the league’s deepest and most talented squads.
They are also the reigning back-to-back AFC Champions League Elite winners.
The Sports Encounter’s report on Al Ahli’s Intercontinental Cup progress showed how strong their continental level remains.
The domestic issue is consistency.
They cannot keep producing elite attacking spells and vulnerable defensive ones inside the same match.
What Does the Win Mean for Al Qadsiah?
It moves them to second and strengthens their legitimacy.
More importantly, it gives them another major-name victory to support the table position.
Beating mid-table teams can accumulate points.
Beating Al Ahli changes how the rest of the league views you.
Rodgers now has evidence that his team can win against technically strong opponents, survive second-half pressure and generate goals from midfield as well as attack.
What Does the Defeat Mean for Al Ahli?
It drops them to seventh and creates another uncomfortable question about defensive stability.
Toney remains dangerous.
The attack can still produce.
The problem is that Al Ahli are asking that attack to compensate for too many defensive lapses.
If that continues, they will struggle to keep pace with the teams above them.
The Sports Encounter Verdict
Al Qadsiah are beginning to look like a club that believes second place is a starting point rather than a ceiling.
Reijnders is central to that shift.
He came to Saudi Arabia as a marquee midfielder.
He is now scoring goals that directly shape the title race.
His brace gave Al Qadsiah control.
Abu Al-Shamat gave them breathing room.
Toney nearly took it away.
The hosts held on.
Five wins from six matches now place Rodgers’ side second, and the table is increasingly reflecting what their squad already suggested.
Al Qadsiah are no longer preparing to become contenders.
They are already behaving like one.
For broader coverage, visit The Sports Encounter’s Soccer Hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Al Qadsiah vs Al Ahli?
Al Qadsiah defeated Al Ahli 3-2 in Saudi Pro League Matchweek 6.
Who scored for Al Qadsiah?
Tijjani Reijnders scored twice, in the 14th minute and 45+3, while Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat scored in first-half stoppage time.
Who scored for Al Ahli?
Ivan Toney scored both Al Ahli goals in the 63rd and 82nd minutes.
What position are Al Qadsiah after the win?
Al Qadsiah moved into second place in the Saudi Pro League table.
How many games have Al Qadsiah won this season?
They have won five of their first six league matches.
How many shots did Al Qadsiah have?
Al Qadsiah attempted eight shots and placed six on target.
How many shots did Al Ahli have?
Al Ahli attempted 12 shots, with six on target.
How much possession did Al Qadsiah have?
Al Qadsiah finished with 56% possession compared with Al Ahli’s 44%.
Why is Tijjani Reijnders important to Al Qadsiah?
Reijnders adds ball progression, midfield control and an increasing goal threat. His brace against Al Ahli follows his first Saudi Pro League goal against NEOM.