"This is not finished for us yet - we deserve to finish the season without defeat"

The title may have been decided, but there is still no shortage of intrigue heading into the final weeks of the Roshn Saudi League.

Despite having the RSL trophy secured, Al Hilal are still chasing an undefeated domestic season, while elsewhere there remains much to play for in both the chase for the final continental spots and in the race to avoid relegation. Others, meanwhile, are looking to finish to campaign on a high with an eye on next season.

Matchweek 32 answered some of those questions and left many more without resolution. Across another exciting round of matches, this is what was said throughout the league.

Al Hilal left it late to keep their unbeaten streak alive, needing a 99th-minute penalty to snatch a 1-1 draw with rivals Al Nassr in the Riyadh derby. That result, said star midfielder Ruben Neves, shows the character of the side that are now 32 games without defeat in the RSL.

“Once again, we showed our character, our attitude. This is not finished for us yet; we deserve to finish the season without defeat. That’s our main target now after winning the title, that’s what motivates us to keep going. 

“… our character and attitude are what brought us to the title and is what will bring us to the finish of the season without defeat.”

Feras Al Buraikan continued his impressive season for Al Ahli with another goal and assist in their thumping 5-1 win over Abha. That takes his season’s tally to 25 goal contributions - 17 goals and eight assists - behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Aleksandar Mitrovic, which the Saudi Arabian international credited to hard work and perseverance.

“This didn’t just come out of nothing, it was a result of hard work, and the support of my teammates. Hopefully, we can do even better in the future. I just want to help the team, be it with goals or assists and contributing both offensively and defensively.

 “Getting minutes regularly helps. For me, being in the rhythm of matches matters a lot. I played a lot of games in the second part of the season.”

Heavy flooding has decimated southern Brazil, including Rio Grande do Sul, the home state of Al Nassr’s Brazilian full-back, Alex Telles. The 31-year-old was touched by a display of support from the Al Nassr fans that in English read: “We are with you united and strong”.

Al Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a crucial 3-1 win over Al Fateh thanks to a late brace from Bernard Mensah, who took his tally to 14 goals for the season. The Ghanaian spoke after the game and gave credit to their fans for never giving up, but said their safety is not yet secure.

“We know Al Fateh is a very strong team and today us players decided to go all out. I will say a big congratulations to the fans for helping us, because they never give up on us.  

“Today was a really good and important three points for us, and we are really happy. We want to fight to the end because we have two more games, and we are not safe; we want to win one more and then we can say we are safe.”

Al Taawoun took a massive step towards qualification for AFC Champions League Two with a gritty 1-0 win over Al Shabab in front of a packed home crowd. It was a victory that earned the plaudits of their manager, Pericles Chamusca.

“Another win against a great opponent. A great match from everyone alongside our fans. Together we are stronger! Yalla, Taawoun!”

Al Ettifaq were forced to fight for their 1-1 draw with lowly Al Okhdood after Moussa Dembele was forced off with an injury and then Mohammed Yousef shown an early red card, all within the first 16 minutes.

After falling behind early in the second half, Steven Gerrard’s side rescued a point thanks to a late goal from Majed Dawran - a result that Alvaro Medran said displays the togetherness in the team.

“We showed a good spirit in the team. We had an injury in the first six minutes, then a red card. But we showed spirit, and we showed fight, and maybe with 11 it would be a different game.  

“We will try to finish the season in a good way, to win the two matches that we have, and we will go to rest, and then from next season we will push from the beginning.”