Neymar goes from penalty zero to Al-Hilal hero! Saudi Pro League winners and losers as Brazilian star finally shows up while Cristiano Ronaldo rides to Al-Nassr's rescue

Having made a slow start to life in his new surroundings, it seemed like it was going to be more of the same for Neymar when he missed a first-half penalty against Al-Shabab on Friday.

The Brazilian superstar, however, ensured that he went from villain to hero after the break as he put in a virtuoso performance to carry Al-Hilal back to the top of the table. He provided the assist for Kalidou Koulibaly to open the scoring and was at the heart at every dangerous attack that Hilal produced.

If Neymar can maintain this level of performance and remain injury-free, then Saudi Arabia's most successful club could very well secure themselves another league title.

After a difficult week, the pressure is beginning to pile on Al-Ittihad manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Having required a penalty shootout to beat second-division side Al-Kholood in the King's Cup in midweek, the defending champions were then held to a goalless draw by Al-Feiha on Friday.

Those dropped points meant Ittihad slipped from the top of the table, with Nuno's side looking toothless in attack without the injured Karim Benzema. Despite the absence of the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner, Nuno still has plenty of options to pick from, but he is struggling to get a tune out of his team right now.

Their next two league matches could well decide the ex-Tottenham manager's fate, as they first take on sixth-placed Al-Ahli before facing the season's surprise package, third-placed Al-Taawoun after the international break.

Ahead of Al-Hilal's clash with Al-Shabab, reports in the media had surfaced that suggested there was a growing tension between the club's players - particularly those brought in during the summer transer window - and manager Jorge Jesus.

Those rumours have now been put to bed, however, after a video emerged of the Hilal squad chanting for the Portuguese coach as he entered the dressing room following his side's 2-0 win on Friday.

The victory will undoubtedly ease some of the pressure that was building on Jesus, especially since it lifted his side back to the top of the table.

During the early weeks of the season, Ever Banega's wife, Valeria Juan, hit out at Al-Shabab fans who had been criticising her husband for his performances, claiming that if the Argentina midfielder wasn't supported, then the team won't be able to deliver.

It seems that she was right, with Friday's loss to Al-Hilal keeping a team who many expected to at least challenge for the title in the bottom half of the table. Shabab have won just two of their eight league matches so far, and Banega has struggled to influence games despite his undoubted ability.

Fingers are currently being pointed at summer acquisition Habib Diallo, who is yet to find the net despite being signed for €18 million (£15.5m/$19m) after scoring 20 goals in Ligue 1 for Strasbourg last season.

There is no doubt who the form team in the Pro League is right now, with Al-Nassr having recovered from suffering back-to-back defeats to start the season to put together a nine-match winning run in all competitions.

That they were able to maintain that this week was largely down to Ronaldo, who first provided a superb assist for Anderson Talisca to open the scoring against Al-Taaem, before netting an 87th-minute winner from the penalty spot himself for his 10th Pro League goal of the campaign already.

Nassr are now just two points off the top of the table in fourth, and don't play any of their title rivals again until the end of November, meaning they have a real chance to keep building momentum over the next couple of months.

Following his disappointing season at Chelsea, Kalidou Koulibaly looked to have carried his form from Stamford Bridge with him to the Middle East if his early performances for Al-Hilal were anything to go by.

However, the Senegal defender now looks to be turning something of a corner, and proved to be the match-winner on Friday as his thumping header broke the deadlock against Al-Shabab as Hilal secured a 2-0 victory.

Though still not at his Napoli levels, Koulibably is beginning to form a strong partnership with fellow centre-back Ali Al-Bulaihi, and the pair performed well together to keep the likes of Yannick Carrasco and Habib Diallo quiet on Friday.

Having rejected overtures from some of Europe's biggest clubs to join Al-Ahli at the age of 21, Gabri Veiga was regarded as one of the most notable Pro League signings of the summer when he joined Al-Ahli. However, things are not going to plan for the young Spaniard.

Veiga was substituted at half-time by manager Matthias Jaissle against Al-Ettifaq on Saturday following an ineffective first-half performance, and there are concerns that he is struggling with the heat in the Middle East.

In fairness to Veiga, he wasn't the only Al-Ahli attacker to underwhelm on Saturday, as Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez again fired blanks for a team who is rapidly going backwards at the moment.

Remember Cristian Tello? The former Barcelona starlet was one touted as being the next Lionel Messi when he was emerging at Camp Nou, but it's fair to say he never came close to reaching the heights that were expected of him in Catalunya.

Now 32, the forward is now lining-up for Al-Fath in the Pro League, and he put in arguably the performance of the week on matchday eight as he netted a hat-trick in his side's 5-1 win over Al-Wehda, taking his season tally to five goals.