da realsbet： It has been a slow start to the season for a number of the Pro League's foreign imports, but signs are that the biggest names are back to their best

da apostaganha： It took three rounds of matches, but the Saudi Pro League's biggest stars finally began to make their mark on the 2023-24 season through Thursday and Friday, as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema kickstarted their campaigns in style.

After back-to-back defeats to start the season, Ronaldo and Al-Nassr picked up their first points of the season with a dominant 5-0 win over Al-Fateh, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner netting a hat-trick, while fellow big-name forward Sadio Mane struck twice.

Over at Al-Ittihad, meanwhile, Benzema put behind him an apparent row with manager Nuno Espirito Santo to score his first Pro League goal as the defending champions made it three wins from three with a 4-0 victory over Al-Riyadh.

Ittihad are joined at the top of the table by newly-promoted Al-Ahli, who needed a stoppage-time goal from Franck Kessie to sneak past Al-Akhdoud, while Al-Hilal got back to winning ways after a draw on matchday two as they beat Al-Raed 4-0.

With all that in mind, GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the latest round of Saudi Pro League action…

WINNER: Cristiano Ronaldo

Not only was Ronaldo's hat-trick on Friday by far his best performance of the season so far following its disappointing beginning, it was arguably the best he has put in since moving to the Middle East in January.

The Portugal superstar was back to his clinical best in front of goal, as gone was the complaining to referees of previous matches, while he also laid on the assist for Mane to open the scoring.

That assist meant this was the first time that Ronaldo had both scored and assisted in the same game for Al-Nassr, and fans will be hopeful this is just the start of a hot streak for their leading man.

AdvertisementGetty LOSER: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's move to Al-Hilal was one of the most surprising arrivals into the Pro League of the summer, given the midfielder had just led Lazio back into the Champions League and has constantly been linked with top European clubs.

Though Neymar has usurped the Serbia international as the biggest name in the squad, the Brazil forward's injury that will keep him out until mid-September means that Milinkovic-Savic is, for now, the player who many on the Al-Hilal team are looking to for a creative spark.

That makes the red card he picked up against Al-Raed on Thursday particularly frustrating, as the 28-year-old lashed out at an opposing defender with headbutt that saw him rightfully dismissed.

It's claimed that the referee's report described Milinkovic-Savic's actions as 'disgraceful behaviour', and he is set to be banned for two matches, meaning he will miss Monday's clash with Al-Ettifaq and, most notably, the 'Saudi Clasico' against defending champions Al-Ittihad on Friday, September 1.

Al-Hilal have appealed their star man's suspension, but at this moment, they will go into the biggest game of the season so far without one of their key players thanks to a rush of blood to the head.

WINNER: Karim Benzema

Though Al-Ittihad had won their first two Pro League games of the season, that Benzema was yet to score was notable, particularly given his record against some of the best defences in Europe.

Things started to make a bit more sense on Wednesday, however, when it was reported that manager Nuno wasn't particularly happy with having to select Benzema given his preferred system, while the striker himself was upset at not having been made captain upon his arrival from Real Madrid.

By Thursday evening, though, everything had changed. Having been seen laughing with Nuno on the sidelines ahead of kick-off, Benzema emerged wearing the armband, while any concerns over his lack of goals was quickly allayed when he started and finished a flowing move early in the first half.

Having got his goal, Benzema also looked to make amends with another man who has apparently taken issue with the Frenchman's arrival at the club: last season's top Pro-League scorer, Abderrazak Hamdallah.

When Al-Ittihad were awarded a penalty midway through the first half, Benzema made sure to hand the ball to Hamdallah to take, and the Moroccan duly obliged to score the first of two goals on the night, taking his tally to four from the opening three games to again top the league's early scoring charts.

Getty ImagesLOSER: Steven Gerrard

Having won their opening two games of the season, including a surprise victory over Al-Nassr, Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq were expected to make it three from three when they took on Al-Khaleej – regarded as one of the league's weakest teams – on Thursday.

And despite their opponents only managing two shots on goal all game, Gerrard's side could only manage a 1-1 draw that ended their 100 percent start to the new season.

Dropping points against lowly opposition never feels good, but with a game against presumed title-contenders Al-Hilal now coming up on Monday, that draw could yet be compounded if things don't go well for Gerrard and his players on matchday four.