Tijjani Reijnders Shines in Saudi Arabia with First-Half Brace

Tijjani Reijnders is wasting no time justifying his price tag in Saudi Arabia.

The Netherlands midfielder, Al-Qadsiah’s record signing, delivered a ruthless first-half brace in a statement performance against Al-Ahli on Tuesday at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, lighting up the sixth round of the Roshn League.

He needed only 14 minutes to announce himself. Picking up the ball on the edge of the area, Reijnders stepped into space and unleashed a ferocious drive that ripped past Édouard Mendy, leaving the Al-Ahli and Senegal goalkeeper with no chance.

Al-Qadsiah kept pushing. The pressure told again deep into first-half stoppage time.

Three minutes into added time, Reijnders struck for a second. Timing his run into the box, he met a teasing cross from Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat and guided a precise header home for his side’s third of the night, underlining the authority with which Al-Qadsiah controlled the half.

Those two goals were only his second and third for the club, but they already carry weight. The Dutchman arrived from Manchester City in the last summer transfer window for a reported 61 million euros, the highest fee in Al-Qadsiah’s history, and expectations followed him from Europe to Dammam.

He had opened his account earlier in the campaign, scoring in just his second appearance during a composed 2-0 win over Neom in the third round of the Roshn League. That early impact has already outstripped his settling-in period at Manchester City, where he managed a single goal in his first four games for the Sky Blues, scoring against Wolverhampton on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.

In Saudi Arabia, the rhythm feels different. The confidence is sharper, the end product more decisive.

Three goals in the opening stretch of the Roshn League suggest Reijnders is not just adapting to his new surroundings; he is starting to own them.