Al-Taawoun displayed attacking brilliance to beat Al-Ettifaq by 4-1 in the latest Saudi Pro League match on Thursday. The Buraidah-based outfit were calm and classy in front of their home crowd, netting a brace before and after half-time to run out comfortable winners and further cement their spot amongst the early league pacesetters.Al-Taawoun started the game strongly, taking the initiative from the first whistle with a high pressing line, quick ball recoveries, and incisive passing through the middle of the pitch. The visitors, who arrived hoping to close the gap on the top half, simply could not live with the speed and invention of the home side.
Early strike sets tone before second-half onslaught
That is precisely what put Al-Taawoun on the scoreboard just nine minutes in as Mohammed Al Kuwaykibi capitalised on a defensive error to fire low and past the netminder. It calmed any early jitters and gave the home side the ability to play the game on their own terms from that point on.A tightly fought first half ended in a controlled manner before Al-Taawoun burst out of the blocks after the break. Waleed Al-Ahmed scored the second in the 51st minute with a precise header from a dead ball, and Sultan Mandash added a third in the 56th minute with a quick counter.It was from the penalty spot that their fourth goal arrived in the 70th minute, Roger Martínez keeping his cool to slot home and send the home fans into raptures. The match, however, was already as good as done by then, and although Al-Ettifaq netted a consolation in the 82nd minute from Khalid Al-Ghannam, cracking in through his side’s only sense of Al-Taawoun’s defence fallibility on the day.Also Read: Top 5 young players to watch in 2025-26 Saudi Pro League football
What the result means for both teams
With this emphatic triumph, Al-Taawoun climb even higher in the league table and highlight their slowly developing status as one of the best-drilled sides in the tournament. It showcased their blend of defensive discipline and attacking flair, and the fact that they have several different players chipping in with goals will give both the coach and supporters hope going forward this season.The heavy defeat is, however, a sobering reminder for Al-Ettifaq of the defensive gaps that have plagued them early in the season. Looked like they were capable of creating, but just not handling wave attacks on them at all. They paid for that against a skilled opponent, and they’ll have to regroup quickly for their next outing.
