Al Ahli cruise into Saudi Super Cup final with Al Nassr | OneFootball

Al Ahli will face Al Nassr in this weekend’s Saudi Super Cup final after the Asian champions dispatched Al Qadsiah 5-1 in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

The Jeddah club, who finished one spot below their semi-final rivals in last season’s Roshn Saudi League, came back from an early goal down with a stunning first-half fight-back to set up Saturday’s showpiece with Al Nassr. Ten-man Al Nassr defeated RSL champions Al Ittihad 2-1 on Tuesday.

A day later, it was actually Al Qadsiah who were first off the mark, when on eight minutes, debutant Christopher Bonsu Baah got to the Al Ahli byline and chipped the ball for Gaston Alvarez to head home.

However, the Al Khobar side’s lead lasted only four minutes. Galeno’s long throw was inadvertently flicked by an opponent into Franck Kessie’s path, leaving the Al Ahli captain to swivel and shoot past Koen Casteels.

Not long after, the 2024-25 RSL Goalkeeper of the Season had to be alert to thwart Galeno and then Ivan Toney’s powerful drive from the angle.

There was nothing, though, Casteels could do when Al Ahli were awarded a penalty following a VAR review – Nahitan Nandez was judged to have blocked the ball with his arm when challenging Roger Ibanez – and Toney rolled home from the spot.

The Al Ahli marksmen was picking up where he left off last season: he finished second in the race for last term’s RSL golden boot, scoring 23 goals in his debut campaign.

Speaking of debuts, just after the half hour, Enzo Millet marked his first official match for Al Ahli with his team’s third after being teed up by some expert wing play from Riyad Mahrez on the right. Millot, a big-move signing from VfB Stuttgart headed past Casteels from the Algerian's inviting cross.

Al Qadsiah’s night got even worse when, three minutes before half-time, a VAR intervention led to Bonsu Baah being awarded a straight red for raking his studs down Ibanez's calf.

Then, in first-half injury-time, Al Ahli looked to make safe the result. Mahrez was again the creator, this time crossing for Kessie to power his header down into the Al Qadsiah net.

In the second half, Al Ahli had chances to get a fifth, chiefly through defender Mohammed Youssef and Toney. Still, they added to their tally moments after the hour, when Al Qadsiah captain Nacho deflected Galeno’s cross into his own net.

There was still time for Toney's turn and finish to be ruled out for offside late on.

Victory secured, Al Ahli move into the Super Cup final in three days' time, where they meet Al Nassr, as both clubs look to clinch the season’s first piece of silverware.