Al-Shabab Humiliate Al-Ahli 6-1 as Carrasco Seals a Hat-Trick
Subheadline: Al-Sanbi’s 22nd-minute red card opened the door. Mathias’s brace and Carrasco’s treble then turned the night into a public trial of Pušić’s project.
Match Card
- Competition: Saudi Pro League – Round 12
- Date: Friday, 30 October 2026
- Result: Al-Shabab 6 – 1 Al-Ahli
- Half-time: 3 – 1
- Al-Shabab scorers: Ricardo Mathias (2', 48'), Yannick Carrasco (25', 66' pen, 82' pen), Roger Martínez (37' pen)
- Al-Ahli scorer: Firas Al-Buraikan (40')
- Red card: Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi – Al-Ahli (22')
Some results are read in the league table; others are read in the faces in the stands. Al-Shabab’s six-goal demolition of Al-Ahli belongs to the second kind. Al-Ahli arrived on a four-match winning run with 21 points. They left with an open wound, fans chanting for Croatian coach Marko Pušić to go, and an unavoidable question: was that recent surge real, or merely a delayed exposure?
First Half: Collapse in Twenty-Two Minutes
Al-Shabab gave their visitors no time to settle. Ricardo Mathias opened the scoring in the second minute, announcing that this night would be different. The turning point came in the 22nd minute. Goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi handled the ball outside his area and was sent off, leaving his side with ten men against a team that knows how to exploit space.
Three minutes later Carrasco doubled the lead, and Roger Martínez added a third from the penalty spot on 37 minutes. Firas Al-Buraikan pulled one back on 40 minutes, but on nights like this, hope is usually just a postponed ending.
Second Half: From Dominance to Humiliation
The second half had barely begun when Mathias struck again on 48 minutes, ending any talk of a comeback. Carrasco then took over the rest of the story, converting penalties on 66 and 82 minutes to complete his hat-trick. He closed the book on a scoreline both clubs will remember for a long time.
Tactical Analysis
The red card was the spark, but it is not the full explanation. Al-Ahli conceded in the second minute with eleven men on the pitch, so the lapses in concentration and organisation existed before the dismissal. Three penalties conceded in one match expose a defensive line that chases attacks rather than anticipating them.
Al-Shabab, by contrast, delivered a lesson in attacking realism. Their mobile front three of Carrasco, Mathias and Martínez combined with a midfield led by Yacine Adli and Brownhill. That midfield turned numerical superiority into territorial control and never let Al-Ahli organise even a ten-man defensive shape.
Al-Ahli were also without first-choice goalkeeper Édouard Mendy through injury, and he watched the collapse from the stands. That image sums up a depth problem in a critical position, and it is a question for the board as much as for the coaching staff.
Man of the Match: Yannick Carrasco
Three goals, a leader’s presence and real composure from the spot. The Belgian captain did more than score. He was the axis around which Al-Shabab’s attack revolved, and he confirmed once again that he is among the league’s most dangerous weapons when given space.
What Comes Next
Al-Shabab take away a statement victory worth more than three points, and a clear message to their rivals near the top. Al-Ahli face a stormy week. The “Pušić out” chants will become a question for the board: was this a passing stumble, or the start of a new chapter of doubt?
Dr. Talal Othman, General Manager — GCC Sport
