Ivan Toney Scores Stunning Hat-Trick as Cristiano Ronaldo Praised by Ange Postecoglou in Saudi Pro League Action

England striker Ivan Toney delivered a masterclass by scoring a hat-trick to lead Al Ahli to a dominant 4-0 victory over Abha, securing their second consecutive win to start the new Saudi Pro League season. Toney opened the scoring within just five minutes by capitalizing on strong play from new Armenian midfielder Eduard Spertsyan. Shortly after, Galeno was brought down in the penalty area, allowing Toney to score his second from the spot.

The third goal came through a spectacular long-range, left-footed strike from Francisco Trincao for his first goal in Saudi football. Trincao then provided the assist for Toney's third goal, sealing the striker's sixth SPL hat-trick and bringing his impressive tally to 58 goals in 64 matches since joining from Brentford.

In other matches, Al Kholood held off Al Taawoun for a 3-2 victory after a strong first half, while Scottish defender Jack Hendry netted the only goal in Al Ettifaq's 1-0 away win against Al Fateh.

Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return by scoring his 977th career goal as Al Nassr defeated Al Riyadh 4-0 on Friday. Returning to the matchday squad for the first time since the World Cup and his recent wedding, the 41-year-old was named on the bench by new manager Ange Postecoglou. Ronaldo entered the match in the 62nd minute with Al Nassr already leading 3-0 following goals from Abdulelah Al Amri, Angelo Gabriel, and Joao Felix.

Ronaldo added a brilliant fourth goal, collecting a low cross and eluding his defender in one smooth motion before finding the back of the net. The milestone goal marked his 130th for Al Nassr across all competitions.

“I said after last game that it was important for Cris to take his time to come back, because he was very, very busy obviously in the off-season,” Postecoglou said. “His mentality is he always wants to play, but he made sure he did all the right things – at training he worked hard – and it was fantastic for him to get 30 minutes today. And he scores a goal, which just shows you the measure of the man.”