King Karim is back! Saudi Pro League winners and losers as Al-Ittihad star Benzema brushes off Nuno Espirito Santo sacking in style

Having arrived as the holder of the Ballon d'Or, it's fair to say that Benzema's start to life at Al-Ittihad had not gone as well as expected in the opening months of the campaign. The French striker had come in for criticism from fans and the media for his poor form, while reports suggested that he had fallen out with manager Nuno.

However, with the Portuguese coach having been sacked on Tuesday after defeat in the AFC Champions League to Iraqi side Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Benzema looked like a man reborn three days later against Abha.

The ex-Real Madrid man netted a brilliant hat-trick in Ittihad's 4-2 win, although the highlight of his performance was arguably his stunning his backheel assist for Igor Coronado to net.

Benzema's Pro League goal tally is now up to eight, and if this is a sign of things to come, then he could yet fire them back into title contention over the coming months.

While Benzema was balling out, his strike partner for much of the season, Abderrazak Hamdallah, was forced to watch on and ponder whether he might be able to get back into the team after the international break.

Last season's Pro League top scorer was forced to miss Friday's match due to injury, and given Benzema's performance, it's worth wondering whether Hamdallah's absence had a positive effect on the Frenchman's performance.

Questions were asked as to whether the pair could play together throughout the opening weeks of the season, and this could yet be seen as the beginning of the end of Hamdallah's Ittihad career.

Mahrez continues to star for Al-Ahli after a slow start to life in the Pro League, and he was at his best again on Thursday as the former Manchester City winger provided assists for both goals as his side went 2-0 up on Damac.

However, once Mahrez was substituted, Ahli lost all control, and surrendered their advantage to draw 2-2 and lose further ground on the league's top two.

That draw has placed further scrutiny on Al-Ahli manager Matthias Jaissle, whom a number of supporters remain unconvinced by despite his well-publicised visit with the club's ultras, which was described as being "friendly".

However, Thursday's failure to beat Damac despite leading 2-0 with 17 minutes to go has left Ahli nine points adrift of leaders Al-Hilal after just 13 matches, and suggests the battle for the title will only be a two-horse race.

Before Al-Hilal's clash with Al-Taawoun, Yassine Bounou was presented with his Pro League Goalkeeper of the Month award, and the Morocco shot-stopper put on quite the show to celebrate!

Bounou made four fantastic saves to keep the scores level before Hilal eventually sealed the victory thanks to late goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Mohammed Keno. If anyone questioned his 13th-placed ranking in the 2023 Ballon d'Or before, then they should be shown this performance!

As coverage of Al-Shadab's shock defeat to Al-Raed switched back to the television studio, the first question asked by the presenter was, 'Where is Banega?'. Shadab had just lost to a team who had won just once previously all season, and their Argentine playmaker was in the cross hairs.

Banega has struggled to have much of an impact ever since Igor Biscan took over as manager in mid-October, and with Shadab sat in the bottom half of the table, the time to take drastic measures in terms of his playing time might be on the horizon.

This column can't be completed without mention of Ronaldo, and he was yet again on the scoresheet in Saturday's win over Al-Wehda as he scored the third in his Al-Nassr's 3-1 victory that keeps the pressure up on leaders Al-Hilal.

Ronaldo's 13th league goal of the season came after a horrendous error from opposition defender Waleed Bakshween, which many interpreted as revenge for the Portuguese after a confusing exchange between the two captains pre-match.

Regardless of whether there was extra feeling behind this goal or not, Ronaldo is showing no signs of slowing down as he approaches his 39th birthday.