Article by Cosmin Nistor – Published Friday, January 16, 2026, 7:19 p.m. / Updated Friday, January 16, 2026, 7:19 p.m.
After the debut with victory in the Saudi Arabian championship, Marius Șumudica suffered a severe defeat on the bench of Al Akhdood. The formation in the fight to avoid relegation clearly lost, 1-4, on the field of Al Khaleej, in the 16th stage.
For the Romanian technician, this is the second failure since taking over the team, after 0-1 with Al Ahli, and his team remains in 17th place, penultimate in the ranking.
Al Akhdood, clearly defeated after the break
After the success of the last round, 1-0 against Al Kholood, the students of Şumudica hoped for a positive result, but the plans were shattered in the second half.
At half-time it was 1-0 to Al Khaleej thanks to Joshua King's goal in the 37th minute. The former Premier League striker, who has played for the likes of Bournemouth, Everton and Watford, is third in the goalscoring rankings with 13 goals, level with Joao Félix (Al Nassr) and just behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the leader with 15 goals.
The Greeks made the difference after the break. The hosts clearly dominated the game and Georgios Masouras increased the gap in the 50th minute. Konstantinos Fortounis made it 3-0 in the 77th minute and Masouras made it a double in the 80th minute from a pass from top scorer Joshua King.
The guest's goal of honor was scored in overtime, in the 90+4th minute, by Abdulaziz Al Hatila.
Ranking situation
The situation in the ranking, after 16 stages, shows a close fight to avoid relegation. Al Akhdood is in 17th place, with 8 points, just one point away from the safety zone, but with one game more than the opponents who are already ahead of them in the standings. Instead, Al Khaleej reaches 24 points, climbs to 7th place and ticks off their third consecutive success in the championship.
For Şumudica's team, the game against Al Riyadh follows, a team that has one point more than Al Akhdood and occupies the 16th place in the ranking, but has not yet played its match in the 16th stage.
Updated standings in the first league of Saudi Arabia
