Sports Reporter
FORMER Zimbabwe captain, Knowledge Musona is among the early birds to make a mark as the new-look, cash-rich Saudi Pro League got underway on Sunday evening.
Captaining Al Riyadh, Musona scored a 17th minute winner against Al Wehda for his side’s first ever goal in the Saudi Pro League.
They also collected their first set of maximum points.
With a host of big name players joining the league, the attention on the Saudi top-flight has grown tremendously, throwing Musona into the spotlight.
Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at Al-Nassr sparked the wave of transfer activity, and high-profile arrivals, in the Middle East country.
And, the Portuguese legend, now past his prime, has scored 14 in 16 appearances in Saudi.
While Musona made it onto the scorers’ chart on opening day, it was former Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino, who made a blistering start for Al-Ahli with a hattrick, taking him top of the strikers’ league.
Among the prominent stars making their Saudi Pro League debut on Sunday were Riyad Mahrez, Edouard Mendy and Allan Saint-Maximin.
They were all in the English Premiership last season with Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United.
They are now together with Firmino at Al Ahli.
Brazilian star Neymar is also set to join them in Saudi Arabia after Paris Saint Germain accepted an offer for him.