Senegalese midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye opened his account in an Al-Diriyah shirt on Friday in the Saudi Pro League with a long-range strike. Not enough: NEOM SC won 2-1, led in particular by Algerian winger Saïd Benrahma.
At 36, Idrissa Gana Gueye has scored for the first time since joining Al-Diriyah in August 2026 from Everton. The Senegalese international midfielder opened the scoring in the 17th minute on Friday 30 October 2026, on matchday 12 of the Saudi Pro League. His team were leading at that point against NEOM SC.
But his side’s lead did not hold. NEOM SC eventually won 2-1, according to Twasl News, and the Senegalese’s evening ended without the win.
A long-range strike from a Nunez pass
From a pass by striker Darwin Nunez, Gueye let fly from distance in the 17th minute, according to Twasl News.
The goal comes after two straight absences, Gueye having missed Al-Diriyah’s two previous matches, against Al-Riyadh and then Al-Ittihad.
Benrahma turns the game around
NEOM SC’s response came from Saïd Benrahma. The Algerian international winger converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time, after a foul in the box won by Jordan’s Mohannad Abu Taha, Twasl News reports. The two teams went in at the break level.
Benrahma was then decisive for the winning goal, finished by striker Alexandre Lacazette in the 68th minute after coming on as a substitute. A third-party account, @AlgerianFooty, cited by Twasl News, credits the Algerian with 5 goals and 3 assists in 8 matches in all competitions with NEOM this season.
The defeat leaves Al-Diriyah with only Gueye’s goal for consolation.
What comes next in the calendar
Both clubs will return to Saudi Pro League action on the next matchday, whose fixture and date are not yet in the available information.
Benrahma is also expected to be in Algeria’s next squad, according to the available information.