Franck Kessie, a former star for Barcelona and AC Milan, scored his first goal for Al-Ahli in the 96th minute, giving them a 1-0 victory over Al-Akhdoud.

following Roberto Firmino touched a cross from Riyad Mahrez, Kessie, who left Catalan giants for Saudi Arabia for £10.8 million following a dismal season, headed it in. 

Along with Kessie, Al-Ahli bolstered their defense this summer by adding players like Firmino, Mahrez, Edouard Mendy, Allan Saint-Maximin, and ex-Leeds defender Ezgjan Alioski.

They had two 3-1 triumphs to start their league campaign, against Al-Hazem and Al-Khaleej, and they got off to a good start in the match at the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Stadium.They had more than twice as many shots as their opponents and had 67% of the possession, but they were frustrated by a tenacious Al-Akhdoud team and were unable to break through.It appeared as though Matthias Jaissle, who left RB Salzburg in the summer to relocate to the Middle East, would witness his team’s perfect record end as the 11 minutes of extra time approached.Kessie, though, had other plans as the PIF-backed team maintained its lead over league leaders Al-Ittihad. Overall strength finally won out, and Al-Ahli will attempt to replicate their title-winning season in 2015–16 after being promoted from the second tier last season.