Ollie Watkins dream debut helps fire Al Hilal to huge win
After promising to deliver for Al Hilal, Ollie Watkins did just that.
On debut, too.
The England international, who joined the Riyadh club only two days previously, announced his arrival in the Roshn Saudi League on Wednesday night, garnishing his big bow with the third in Al Hilal’s statement 3-0 victory against Al Ahli.
Introduced for the second half, Watkins was celebrating four minutes from time, the star signing from Aston Villa stooping to head home Sultan Mandash’s back-post cross.
So Villa’s all-time top scorer in the English Premier League has opened his account in its Saudi equivalent.
To be fair, it wasn’t as if Al Hilal have been struggling for goals. Before Watkins’ intervention, last season’s RSL runners-up had scored 14 times in less than four full matches.
At Kingdom Arena, the hosts raced to a 2-0 lead by midway through the first half, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic breaking the deadlock nine minutes in when he beat the offside trap to finish.
Crysencio Summerville, another major summer addition, doubled Al Hilal’s advantage on 23 minutes with a fine solo effort from the angle.
Then, in first-half injury-time, Al Ahli had Merih Demiral sent off. Understandably, it proved uphill from there against a rampant Al Hilal.
The win, at the expense of perceived title rivals and back-to-back reigning Asian champions, took Al Hilal to the top of the early season table; indeed, they and reigning champions Al Nassr are the only teams with a 100 percent start to the 2026-27 campaign.
With Watkins hitting the ground running, Al Hilal will be intent on staying at the summit for some time yet.
