Tijjani Reijnders Shines in Al-Qadsiah Victory
Tijjani Reijnders is wasting no time justifying his price tag in Saudi Arabia.
The Netherlands midfielder, already the most expensive signing in Al-Qadsiah’s history, delivered a statement performance on Tuesday night, striking twice in a 3-0 dismantling of Al-Ahli in the Roshn League at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam.
This was not a quiet settling-in period. This was a takeover.
From the opening whistle, Reijnders played on the front foot, demanding the ball, dictating tempo, and driving Al-Qadsiah higher up the pitch. The breakthrough came early. In the 14th minute, a loose ball broke kindly to him on the edge of the penalty area. One touch to set himself, then a vicious, rising strike that flew beyond Édouard Mendy before the Al-Ahli goalkeeper could properly set his feet.
It was the finish of a player playing with complete conviction, a player who knows this league is his stage.
Al-Qadsiah smelled vulnerability and kept pushing. The hosts stretched Al-Ahli’s back line, moved the ball quickly into wide areas, and forced Mendy into constant organisation. Just when it looked like Al-Ahli might reach the interval with damage limited, Reijnders struck again.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Mohammed Abu Al-Shamat found space on the flank and whipped in a teasing cross. Reijnders had timed his run perfectly. He attacked the ball, met it with a firm header, and steered it home for his side’s third of the night. A midfielder arriving late, unmarked, and ruthless – it was a textbook goal, executed with minimum fuss and maximum impact.
Two goals. One from distance, one from inside the box. Both dripping with confidence.
The brace lifted Reijnders to three goals for Al-Qadsiah since his summer move from Manchester City, a transfer reported at 61 million euros. That fee made him the club’s costliest signing, a bold statement of intent from a side determined to accelerate its rise in the Saudi game.
He has responded by hitting the ground running. His first goal for the club came in just his second appearance, in a controlled 2-0 win over Neom in the third round of the Roshn League. The numbers are already better than his early days in England: at Manchester City last season, he managed only one goal in his first four matches, scoring against Wolverhampton on the opening weekend of the Premier League.
The contrast is striking. In Manchester, he had to fight for space, for rhythm, for minutes in a star-studded squad. In Dammam, he is the reference point. The ball goes through him. The responsibility sits on his shoulders. And he looks comfortable carrying it.
For Al-Qadsiah, that is exactly what a record signing must be: not just a name on a team sheet, but a force that changes matches, shapes results, and lifts standards around him.
On a humid night at Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium, Tijjani Reijnders did all of that. The question now is not whether he can adapt to the Roshn League.
It is how far he can drag Al-Qadsiah with him.
