Former Liverpool star Roberto Firmino made a superb start to life in Saudi Arabia by bagging a hat-trick on his debut for Al-Ahli.
The experienced striker was in the form of his life as he headed in the first goal within the first six minutes of the Saudi Pro League game against Al-Hazm on Friday.
The Brazilian followed that up with a deft tap-in after Riyad Mahrez, who also arrived this summer from Manchester City for ÂŁ30 million, set him up with a delicate cross.
The fate of the game looked decided at the break but VinĂcius Goes Barbosa de Souza’s 50th-minute strike sparked hopes of a comeback from the visitors.
However, Firmino put the game beyond them by scoring his third goal, courtesy of a brilliant cross from ex-Newcastle United star Allan Saint-Maximin.
Al-Ahli have made some huge investments on new recruits after sealing promotion to the Saudi Pro League in May.
They brought in Edouard Meny from Chelsea before signing Firmino, Mahrez, Saint-Maximin, Franck Kessie and Roger Ibanez in the 2023 transfer window.
The strategy seems to be working brilliantly for them as they started the new season with an emphatic 3-1 win over Al-Hazm.
The combination of Firmino, Mahrez and Saint-Maximin was especially encouraging to watch, as they all produced superb displays on Friday.Â
Al-Ahli will return to action next week when they travel to the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium to take on Al-Khaleej.
