Al-Ahli Jeddah won a five-goal thriller in Mecca, prevailing 3-2 away to Al Wehda Club in the Pro League's 29th round. The result was dictated by clinical finishing in the key moments, particularly from the away side's highest-rated players. Al-Ahli Jeddah scored three times from their five shots on target, while Al Wehda Club needed four such efforts to score twice. The Lemeister model had favoured the visitors with a 48% win probability, and this result matched its projection of a 2-1 away win, though the final margin required a late flurry.
The scoring began early, with Roger Ibañez putting Al-Ahli Jeddah ahead in the sixth minute. The centre-back's goal was his only shot of the match and came from open play, giving the visitors a lead they would hold until the interval. Despite the early breakthrough, Al Wehda Club controlled 55% of possession in the first half and finished the match with that same share of the ball. Their 405 total passes, 331 of which were accurate, gave them an 82% completion rate identical to Al-Ahli Jeddah's. The home side also generated more corner kicks, eight to four.
Al-Ahli Jeddah doubled their lead in the 58th minute through Wenderson Galeno, with Riyad Mahrez providing the assist. Galeno, who earned an 8.0 rating, was a constant threat in the final third, contributing to the visitors' 10 shots from inside the box. The assist maintained Mahrez's influence, and he would later take centre stage. Al Wehda Club pulled a goal back in the 81st minute when Abdullah Al Hafith scored, assisted by Craig Goodwin. Goodwin finished with a 7.2 rating, the only home attacker to feature in the top-rated list.
The decisive moment came in the 89th minute. Riyad Mahrez, the match's highest-rated player at 8.3, scored what proved to be the winner, assisted by Franck Kessie. Mahrez's goal came at a crucial time, punishing Al Wehda Club for their failure to convert sustained pressure into more goals. The home side did manage a consolation in the sixth minute of added time, Ala´a Al Hajji scoring without an assist, but it was too late to alter the outcome.
The statistical picture shows a match far closer than the scoreline might suggest. Total shots were level at 14 apiece. Expected goals, a metric often decisive in such analyses, is not available in the match data, but the shot distribution indicates Al-Ahli Jeddah created slightly higher-quality chances. They had 10 shots from inside the box to Al Wehda Club's nine, and five shots on target to the home side's four, with both goalkeepers making two saves. Defensively, the visitors committed 14 fouls to Al Wehda Club's nine but received no yellow cards, while the home side collected two, via Ala'a Al-Hejji and Juninho Bacuna.
For the competition context, this victory strengthens Al-Ahli Jeddah's position in the upper half of the Pro League table with the season entering its final phase. Al Wehda Club, meanwhile, will rue the efficiency gap. Despite dominating the ball and earning more corners, they were undone by individual quality at the decisive moments, particularly from Mahrez and Galeno, whose combined goal and assist tally proved the difference. The home side's late surge, including Al Hajji's stoppage-time goal, offered a glimpse of resilience but not the points.
