Never write off Cristiano Ronaldo! Saudi Pro League winners and losers as Al-Nassr star bags brace while Karim Benzema suffers injury blow and Steven Gerrard's players choose surrender

The usual 'Penaldo' jibes will likely have come out of the woodwork on Tuesday as Ronaldo scored twice from the spot against Al-Shabab, but the Portuguese will not have cared. He lives for scoring goals, no matter how they came out.

Ronaldo's performance was by no means limited to two strikes from 12 yards, either. He laid on an assist for Sadio Mane to score his fourth goal of the campaign, while the ex-Manchester United man also won a second-half penalty which he sportingly allowed Abdulrahman Ghareeb to take, only for the Saudi international to miss.

After four rounds, Ronaldo is currently the league's top score with five goals, ahead of team-mate Mane, Al-Hilal new boy Malcom and last season's Golden Boot winnner, Al-Ittihad's Abderrazak Hamdallah, who all have four goals each.

Ever Banega had a week to forget as his Al-Shabab side were on the wrong end of the result against local rivals Al-Nassr, the 4-0 defeat leaving them 17th in the table and still without a win in the first four games of the season.

Things got even worse for the Argentina international, as he was sent off late on for lashing out at an opponent as tempers flared following a bad challenge on Mane as frustrations began to boil over the visitors late on.

Banega is seen as the leader of the Al-Shabab side, but his wife, Valeria, may have made things even worse for the ex-Sevilla man as she hit out at the club's supporters on Instragam, insulting their religion and demanding her husband be allowed to leave.

"There are a lot of stars, and a lot of potential in the stadium, but we had to leave, because we only heard insults, the fans do not respect the family!!!" se wrote. "It seems that they prayed so much and forgot to do something very important, which is to educate!

“As long as the team situation continues in this way, Banega does not deserve to stay here...The situation leads to pessimism, Banega's professionalism and career deserve respect."

Riyad Mahrez has not had things all his own way since arriving at Al-Ahli this summer, but the ex-Manchester City man was in fine form on Tuesday as his side ran out 2-0 winners over Al-Ta'ee.

Mahrez opened the scoring himself with his second goal of the season before laying on the assist for Franck Kessie to secure the points in the second half. That was one of six chances created by the Algeria international as he begins to adapt to his new surroundings.

Despite being newly-promoted, Al-Ahli's spending power has catapulted them to the top of the table with a maximum 12 points out of 12, marking the first time in the club's history that it has begun the season with so many competitive wins.

That said, not all of Al-Ahli's summer imports enjoyed a fine performance on Tuesday, as Roberto Firmino looked like a player lacking in confidence despite only being a couple of weeks removed from his opening-day hat-trick.

The ex-Liverpool forward has not found the net since, and one wonders whether the injury that ruled him out of his side's game on matchday two is still plaguing him somewhat. The international break could be a good time for Firmino to get fully fit and reset.

Jota has been one of the more confusing signings of the summer into the Pro League, but on Monday he showed just why Al-Ittihad were willing to pay €29 million (£25m/$30m) to sign him from Celtic.

The 24-year-old had struggled for minutes during the opening weeks of the season, and some reports suggested that he could even be sold back to Europe given he was a pretty expensive player to only be making the bench.

But after replacing the injured Karim Benzema (more on that later) late in the first against Al-Wehda, the ex-Benfica academy star showed why manager Nuno Espirito Santo was so keen to bring him to the club.

Jota's fleet-footedness delighted Ittihad supporters, while he netted the second goal in their 3-0 win. By full-time, fans were criticising Nuno for not giving him more minutes earlier in the season, so good was his performance!

The sight no one wanted to see: Benzema limping away down the tunnel after just 36 minutes of Al-Ittihad's win over Al-Wehda. The French striker has suffered with muscle injuries over the past 12 months as time begins to catch up with him, and there must be concern among the defending champions that their star asset could be set for a spell on the sidelines.

The timing could barely have been worse, with the Saudi Clasico against Al-Hilal coming up on Friday in what will be the first true test of Nuno's side this season. That they will likely go into it without Benzema is a massive blow.

Concern only grew on Monday as Benzema's strike partner, Abderazzak Hamdallah, put in one of his worst performances in an Ittihad shirt. Last season's Golden Boot winner missed three big chances during the game and was criticised for his selfishness in the final third.

Some fans were even demanding Hamdallah be sold at full-time as reports continue to swirl regarding his future following Benzema's arrival. Now, though, he will get the chance to step into the Ballon d'Or winner's shoes - he will need to perform to a much higher standard to prove himself worthy, though.

When it was announced that Neymar would be joining Al-Hilal, many presumed that would mark the end of Salem Al-Dawsari's time in the first team. The man nicknamed 'The Tornado', who famously scored the winning goal against Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, surely couldn't force his way into a forward line including Neymar, Malcom and Aleksandar Mitrovic, could he?

Well, Al-Dawsari is giving it a good go while Neymar recovers from injury, and scored his second goal in as many games on Monday with a superb volley against Al-Ettifaq.

The 32-year-old now has three goals in four matches so far this season, and with Malcom having netted four alongside him and Mitrovic proving an ideal focal point for the attack, maybe it will be Neymar who needs to prove himself worthy of a starting spot after the international break!

It's worth noting at the other end of the pitch, meanwhile, the debut of Kalidou Koulibaly, who made his Al-Hilal bow after missing the first three games of the season with injury. The ex-Chelsea centre-back looked in good form, and Jorge Jesus will be glad to have him available for Friday's Clasico.

"We have no choice but to fight or surrender." Those were the words of Al-Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard ahead of his side's clash with Al-Hilal on Monday. And if their performance was anything to go by, his players chose the latter!

Ettifaq were listless in their 2-0 defeat to the Pro League's most successful club, the loss the first of their season following an encouraging start that saw them win their opening two games.

But after a disappointing draw against Al-Khaleej on matchday three, this defeat has led to some already questioning Gerrard's managerial ability.