Ollie Watkins Shines in Al-Hilal Victory

Ollie Watkins needed only nine minutes in Buraidah to announce himself as Al-Hilal’s new headline act.

The England striker, signed in the summer from Aston Villa, lit up the seventh round of the Saudi Roshn League with a performance that felt ripped straight from his best Premier League nights, as Al-Hilal swept past Al-Taawoun on their own pitch.

The breakthrough came early. Ruben Neves launched a long, raking pass from midfield, and Watkins did the rest. He exploded into the space, held his nerve as he raced clear, and slid a composed finish past the goalkeeper to open the scoring and silence the home crowd.

Al-Hilal never really looked back.

By the time the second half gathered pace, the visitors were in complete control and Watkins was hunting more. The pressure finally told in the 56th minute. Picking up the ball from deep, he surged through the heart of the Al-Taawoun defence, brushed off the last challenge and, once again, finished with the kind of calm that has become his trademark. It was Al-Hilal’s fifth of the night and his second, a clinical brace that underlined the gulf between the sides.

For Watkins, it was a familiar feeling in a new shirt. The 30-year-old built his reputation on these doubles in England, where he recorded five braces for Aston Villa last season alone, including back-to-back hauls against Liverpool and Manchester City in the final two rounds of the Premier League campaign.

This, though, was his first brace in Al-Hilal colours.

He had opened his account on debut in a 3-0 win over Al-Ahli, then endured two quieter outings against Al-Shabab and Neom. Any suggestion of a slow start vanished in Buraidah, as he rediscovered the ruthless edge that made him one of Europe’s most reliable forwards.

If this is how quickly Watkins is settling into life in the Saudi Roshn League, defenders across the country have been given an early and brutal warning.