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• Al-Riyadh 0-3 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic double sends hosts top

  Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice late on to secure Al-Hilal a 3-0 win over Al-Riyadh, sending them top of the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.

  Salem Al-Dawsari orchestrated the victory though, scoring one and assisting both of Mitrovic's goals, while Marcos Leonardo was denied a strike of his own.

  Al-Hilal dominated the first half, managing 10 shots as they smothered the hosts, but they could not find a breakthrough, only testing Milan Borjan twice.

  Both sides moved through the gears in the second half though, with Ibrahim Bayesh rifling a powerful effort against the woodwork minutes after the break for the hosts.

  Al-Dawsari found a way through shortly after – he made a sensational run down the left before cutting inside and dinking a lovely shot over Borjan and in off the far post.

  Leonardo ran off the back of Al-Riyadh's defence and scored a chip of his own, only to have the goal ruled out as he started his run too early.

  Mitrovic made sure of the three points after 80 minutes as he slotted in from a tight angle and got his second in the 100th minute to round off a good day for Al-Hilal. 

  Data Debrief: Al-Dawsari steals the show

  After struggling to find their shooting boots in the first half, Al-Hilal can be thankful for their left-winger, who caused all sorts of problems for Al-Riyadh.

  He had the most touches in the opposition box (seven), and created the most chances (four), while only Ruben Neves (27) made more passes than him in the final third (22).

• Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Ahli: Toney denied winning start by late own goal

  A Bassam Al-Hurayji own goal in the 100th minute of the match handed Al-Nassr a 1-1 draw against Al-Ahli and denied Ivan Toney a winning start to life in Saudi Arabia.

  Franck Kessie looked to have won all three points for Al-Ahli with a wonderful effort from the outside of the box after 57 minutes, but Al-Nassr's pressure was rewarded late on when Al-Hurayji diverted Sultan Alghannam's cross into his own net.

  The home side started the match well, with Sadio Mane seeing an early effort cleared off the line and Marcelo Brozovic testing Edouard Mendy from distance, but they were unable to find a way through in the first half.

  Kessie had gone close just after the break, dragging his shot wide of the far post, but he was not to be denied a second time. He met a pullback on the edge of the box, opening his foot to send a wonderful effort into the top-left corner.

  But Cristiano Ronaldo's side kept probing, with Talisca deflecting a shot wide of the far post before they eventually got on the scoresheet thanks to Al-Hurayji's attempted block.

  Data Debrief: Al-Nassr continue scoring streak - just

  After scoring in the closing stages, with a bit of luck, Al-Nassr have now scored in their last 22 Saudi Pro League matches, a feat which has not been achieved since March-December 2017, with the final match in that sequence also being against Al-Ahli.

  Furthermore, they are now unbeaten in their last six matches against Al-Ahli, which equals the longest unbeaten streak in the fixture - their opponents once went six games unbeaten between 2011 and 2013, winning three and drawing three.

   

   

   

   

   

• Arteta believes Sterling has point to prove as debut awaits

  Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes Raheem Sterling has a point to prove following his deadline-day move from Chelsea.

  Sterling made the journey across London late in the transfer window after being deemed surplus to requirements by Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

  The 29-year-old, who is with the Gunners on a season-long loan, could make his debut in the North London derby against Tottenham on Sunday and Arteta, who worked with him during his time as an assistant coach at Manchester City, has enjoyed linking up with the Englishman again so far.

  Arteta said of Sterling: "He looks great. First of all, because he has a big smile on his face, a lot of energy. He's at it and wants to prove a point."

  The Spaniard has already seen a desire from Sterling to return to his past form, which saw him win four Premier League titles with City, and score 123 Premier League goals.

  "When someone has got that in his belly you sense it straight away," said Arteta.

  "Obviously, I don't need to discover anything about his quality and what he can bring to the team.

  "What I see is hunger. He is a player who wants to play every minute of every game. When that is not the case, he's not happy."

  Arteta refused to rule out the possibility of Martin Odegaard being involved on Sunday, despite the midfielder sustaining an ankle injury during the international break.

  Norway's national team doctor said Odegaard would be out for the next three weeks, but the Arsenal boss was bullish about his chances of possibly being involved.

  He said: "We need some more tests so let's see what happens in the next day or so, this afternoon probably, and see what happens with the extent of the injury and how quickly we can get him back.

  “"48 hours until the game, players could always become available, but let's see what happens."

  Arteta signed a new three-year contract during the week, having been appointed in December 2019, and said his strong feelings towards the club made the decision to extend a no-brainer.

  "The emotional attachment that I have, that my family has, and my kids have [to Arsenal], as well as the experience that I have and the moment [I am sharing] with the people - it is too strong," said the 42-year-old.

  "We are going in the right direction, we have made some huge steps, and we have a lot still to make."