Al Ahli’s September opener jinx survives as Al Hilal move level on points with Al Nassr

Al Hilal moved to the top of the Roshn Saudi League with a 3-0 victory over Al Ahli on Tuesday, extending their perfect start to four wins while condemning their opponents to a 10th consecutive season without a victory in their first league match of September.

The match had been postponed from the third round of the competition, but Al Hilal showed no sign of being affected by the rearranged schedule as they secured a convincing victory.

The result leaves Al Hilal with 12 points from four matches. They sit first in the table on goal difference, level on points with second-placed Al Nassr.

Al Ahli, meanwhile, have slipped to seventh with six points. It was their second defeat in the league this season, following their earlier loss to Al Kholood.

The defeat also prolonged a striking run of poor results for Al Ahli at the start of September. According to Al Arabiya.net, the Jeddah club have now failed to win their opening league fixture in the month for 10 successive seasons.

Across the previous nine campaigns, Al Ahli had drawn five of those September openers and lost four. Al Hilal’s victory on Tuesday added a fifth defeat to that sequence.

Al Ahli’s last success in their first September match came in 2015, when they beat Al Wehda 2-0. They have been unable to repeat that result in every season since, with Tuesday’s defeat ensuring the unwanted record continues into a second decade.

Al Hilal’s record during the same period is the complete opposite. They remain unbeaten in their first league match played in September for a 10th consecutive season, a sequence that now consists of eight victories and two draws.

The result therefore strengthened Al Hilal’s position at the summit while increasing the pressure on Al Ahli, who must recover quickly from a heavy defeat that has affected both their league standing and their long-running September record.

With four consecutive victories, Al Hilal have made the strongest possible start to their campaign. Al Ahli, by contrast, have six points from their opening fixtures and have now suffered successive setbacks against Al Kholood and Al Hilal.

Tuesday’s meeting provided another chapter in the contrasting September fortunes of the two clubs: Al Hilal preserved their decade-long unbeaten record in the month’s opening league fixture, while Al Ahli’s wait for a winning start to September reached 10 seasons.