ShareAl-Ahli lost Matthias Jaissle to Newcastle United ahead of the Saudi Pro League season, but new boss Marino Pusic made a winning start.Al-Ahli opened their Saudi Pro League campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Diriyah Club on Thursday, with a debut goal from Eduard Spertsyan enough to clinch the points.Having finished third last season, Al-Ahli were entering a new era under former Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Marino Pusic, following Matthias Jaissle's move to Newcastle United.And Pusic got off to a winning start on the opening day of 2026-27, though Al-Ahli were put through their paces by newly promoted Diriyah, who appointed former Wolves and Benfica boss Bruno Lage as their new head coach last month.Oscar Rodriguez spurned Diriyah's first chance just three minutes in, shooting tamely at Abdulrahman Al Sanbi from an excellent position, before Spertsyan put Al-Ahli in front in the 25th minute.Spertsyan, a recent €25m signing from Russia's Krasnodar, saw his shot ricochet beyond the grasp of Nikola Vasilj after a fortuitous bounce of the ball on the left side of the area.Diriyah pressed hard for an equaliser, but Gaetan Laborde, Omar Colley, Clayton Diandy and Meshari Al Nemer – the latter with a close-range header six minutes from time – all missed decent chances as Al-Ahli clung onto the three points.In Thursday's other games, Al-Qadsiah beat Al-Shabab 3-1 and Al-Hazem won 2-1 at Abha.Last season's runners-up, Al-Hilal, open their campaign against Al-Faisaly on Friday, before Cristiano Ronaldo's title-winning Al-Nassr face Al-Fateh on Saturday.Spertsyan sparkles on debut as Toney quietAl-Ahli talisman Ivan Toney was quiet on the opening day, coming off the back of a 32-goal campaign in 2026-27 and a trip to the World Cup with England.But it is surely only a matter of time before Toney and Spertsyan form a fearsome partnership.In addition to his goal, the Armenia playmaker created twice as many chances as any other player on the pitch (six, Hussain Al Qahtani created three for Diriyah), while he only failed to complete one of his 29 passes, achieving a 96.6% passing accuracy.Al-Ahli finished five points adrift of champions Al-Nassr last season, but Spertsyan's creativity and eye for goal could help them to close that gap this campaign. Al-Ahli lost Matthias Jaissle to Newcastle United ahead of the Saudi Pro League season, but new boss Marino Pusic made a winning start.Al-Ahli opened their Saudi Pro League campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Diriyah Club on Thursday, with a debut goal from Eduard Spertsyan enough to clinch the points.Having finished third last season, Al-Ahli were entering a new era under former Shakhtar Donetsk head coach Marino Pusic, following Matthias Jaissle's move to Newcastle United.And Pusic got off to a winning start on the opening day of 2026-27, though Al-Ahli were put through their paces by newly promoted Diriyah, who appointed former Wolves and Benfica boss Bruno Lage as their new head coach last month.Oscar Rodriguez spurned Diriyah's first chance just three minutes in, shooting tamely at Abdulrahman Al Sanbi from an excellent position, before Spertsyan put Al-Ahli in front in the 25th minute.Spertsyan, a recent €25m signing from Russia's Krasnodar, saw his shot ricochet beyond the grasp of Nikola Vasilj after a fortuitous bounce of the ball on the left side of the area.Diriyah pressed hard for an equaliser, but Gaetan Laborde, Omar Colley, Clayton Diandy and Meshari Al Nemer – the latter with a close-range header six minutes from time – all missed decent chances as Al-Ahli clung onto the three points.In Thursday's other games, Al-Qadsiah beat Al-Shabab 3-1 and Al-Hazem won 2-1 at Abha.Last season's runners-up, Al-Hilal, open their campaign against Al-Faisaly on Friday, before Cristiano Ronaldo's title-winning Al-Nassr face Al-Fateh on Saturday.Spertsyan sparkles on debut as Toney quietAl-Ahli talisman Ivan Toney was quiet on the opening day, coming off the back of a 32-goal campaign in 2026-27 and a trip to the World Cup with England.But it is surely only a matter of time before Toney and Spertsyan form a fearsome partnership.In addition to his goal, the Armenia playmaker created twice as many chances as any other player on the pitch (six, Hussain Al Qahtani created three for Diriyah), while he only failed to complete one of his 29 passes, achieving a 96.6% passing accuracy.Al-Ahli finished five points adrift of champions Al-Nassr last season, but Spertsyan's creativity and eye for goal could help them to close that gap this campaign.