Sadio Mane's first-half strike ensured Al-Nassr maintained their unbeaten start to the Saudi Pro League season with a 1-0 win over rivals Al-Riyadh.

He smartly finished from close range in the 41st minute, with his goal enough to seal the three points and move Al-Nassr up to third in the table.

Al-Nassr's threat grew as the first half went on, with Milan Borjan making a fine double stop to deny Ronaldo and Talisca once again before Mohamed Simakan struck the post on the rebound.

Mane would eventually break the deadlock in the 41st minute though, darting in front of his marker to meet Abdulrahman Ghareeb's low cross and rifle it into the roof of the net.

The Senegalese striker arguably should have doubled his tally before the break, but was denied by Borjan's stretching save when one-on-one with the Canadian.

Talisca should have wrapped up the points in the final three minutes, but he blazed over an empty net from close range, before having a late goal disallowed for offside.

Data Debrief: Derby delight for Al-Nassr

After drawing their last two matches, this win was a welcome result for Al-Nassr as they racked up their sixth victory of the season to close the gap at the top of the table to six points. 

It is just the second time Al-Nassr have avoided defeat in their first 10 matches of a Pro League campaign, last doing so in 2013-14, when they won the league title.

They are now unbeaten in their last seven Pro League derbies (W4 D3), their longest such streak since a run of nine between 2018 and 2020.

This is the first time in eight such games that they have kept a clean sheet though, and limited their opponents to just five shots throughout. 

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).

Former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte was sent off for punching Mohammed Al-Aqel on the arm as Al-Nassr played out a 2-2 draw with Al-Riyadh in the Saudi Pro League.

Meshari Al-Nemer's 97th-minute strike salvaged a point for Al-Nassr, who had trailed for over half the game and played with a one-man disadvantage for over half an hour.

Otavio had put Al-Nassr ahead only for Andre Gray to drag the hosts level, before Al-Aqel gave David Ospina no chance with a terrific overhead kick to make it 2-1.

Al-Nassr's position was put in further jeopardy when Laporte was sent off following a bizarre off-the-ball incident which saw him grab and punch Al-Aqel on the elbow, while Cristiano Ronaldo came up with a glaring miss from Sadio Mane's pass across the six-yard box.

Al-Nemer levelled at the death for Al-Nassr, though they still sit some 14 points adrift of champions Al-Hilal, who could complete an unbeaten season against Al-Wehda on Monday.

Data Debrief: Laporte's horror show

It was a game to forget for Laporte, whose bizarre punch on Al-Aqel put Al-Nassr up against it versus a team still in danger of relegation.

Laporte did not attempt a single tackle in the game while his four duels contested were the joint-fewest of every outfield starter (alongside Khalid Al-Shuwayyi). He was also sent off in Al-Nassr's AFC Champions League quarter-final tie against Al Ain in March.