Al-Nassr need Cristiano Ronaldo back as soon as possible! Saudi Pro League winners and losers as Portuguese superstar misses opening-day defeat while Roberto Firmino sets down an early marker

Roberto Firmino was a free agent following his departure from Liverpool, and as such promises to be one of the bargain signings of the Saudi Pro League off-season, especially if he can maintain the heroics of his league debut for Al-Ahli.

The Brazil international netted a hat-trick to secure a 3-1 win over Al-Hazm on Thursday, becoming just the second player in club history to net a treble on their debut, following in the footsteps of Omar Al Somah, who did so in 2014.

The hat-trick wasn't the most stunning of Firmino's career as all three strikes came from within the six-yard box, but he won't have cared, and neither will Al-Ahli's boisterous supporters, who best get used to seeing their new captain's karate-kick celebration.

A shout out to those fans, too, who created a superb atmosphere as they celebrated their return to the top-flight after promotion last season. Firmino spoke of the "goosebumps" they gave him ahead of kick-off, and the Al-Ahli fans did not let up throughout the whole game.

It wasn't all good news for Al-Ahli, though, as new goalkeeper Edouard Mendy suffered a debut to forget after gifting Al-Hazm a way back into the match with a fatal error.

With his side leading 2-0 following an early double from Firmino, the ex-Chelsea goalkeeper looked to play out from the back, only to fire a pass into the feet of opposition forward Vinicius Barbosa, who proceeded to lob the ball back over Mendy's head and into the net.

It's not the first time we have seen the Senegal international make that kind of error over the past year o so, and perhaps illustrates why he lost the No.1 role at Stamford Bridge before his summer departure.

Firmino wasn't the only Brazilian new arrival to walk away from their Pro League debut with the match ball, as ex-Barcelona forward Malcom also netted a treble to guide Al-Hilal to victory over Abha.

Eyebrows were raised when Al-Hilal agreed to a fee of up to €60 million (£52m/$65.5m) to sign Malcom from Zenit St. Petersburg, but if Monday's performance is anything to go by, then the 26-year-old could yet emerge as a star of the 2023-24 campaign.

Amid a number of disappointing displays from his team-mates, Malcom was electric, with his third goal the pick of the bunch as he smashed a bouncing ball across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner.

With Neymar looking set to join him in the Al-Hilal ranks in the coming days, Jorge Jesus is building a Brazilian-based attack that will strike plenty of fear into opposition defenders.

Steven Gerrard has arrived at Al-Ettifaq with a point to prove. After the disappointing end to his time in charge of Aston Villa, the ex-Liverpool midfielder needs to prove himself as a coach once more, and he made the perfect start on Monday.

His team came from behind to beat Al-Nassr 2-1, picking up three points against one of the title favourites in a result that will have certainly caught the eye of the other members of the presumed top four.

There will be those who point to the fact that the visitors were without a number of key players, including Ronaldo, Marcelo Brozovic and Alex Telles, but Gerrard will certainly relish the way his side showed resilience to recover from Sadio Mane's early strike and gain an opening-night victory.

After missing out on the Pro League title last season, Al-Nassr could have done without their slow start this time around, though some of the blame for their opening-day defeat to Al-Ettifaq must be apportioned elsewhere.

Of their big-name summer arrivals, only Mane was available, and the ex-Liverpool and Bayern Munich forward almost rescued a point for his team, only for his 89th-minute equaliser to be ruled out for offside after he had earlier opened the scoring.

The reason why so many players, including Ronaldo, missed the game was that it came just 48 hours after the final of the Arab Club Champions Cup, which Al-Nassr won. Given most of the players who joined from Europe are only just emerging from pre-season, playing two games in three days wasn't possible, and left Castro severely under-manned.

The Competition Committee could have postponed Monday's match to give the players more time to recover, and questions must now be asked as to whether the season should start so soon after the annual tournament ends in the future.

While Karim Benzema's signing by Al-Ittihad was met with mass celebrations among the club's fanbase, one man was less happy with the arrival of the Ballon d'Or winner. Abderrazak Hamdallah fired Al-Ittihad to the title in 2022-23, finishing as the Pro League's top scorer with 21 goals, and wasn't best pleased that he was seemingly being replaced in the line up.

It led to a fallout with coach Nuno Espirito Santo, and Hamdallah only agreed to return to the team in the days leading up to the new campaign. You wouldn't have known it against Al-Raed on Monday, though.

The Morocco international opened the scoring after combining with Benzema before dancing past a couple of defenders and lashing a powerful finish into the heart of the goal. That was one of four shots Hamdallah managed in the game as his display overshadowed that of Benzema.

Quite whether that will become a pattern, we will have to wait and see.

Given Riyad Mahrez's status as one of the biggest stars of Arab football, it was presumed he would be handed the Al-Ahli captaincy by new manager Matthias Jaissle. The ex-Red Bull Salzburg boss, however, opted to hand the armband to Firmino.

It certainly seemed to inspire the Brazilian forward, but Mahrez's display suggested that he felt stung by being overlooked as he struggled to impose himself on his Pro League debut.

He did provide an assist for Firmino's second goal, but much more will be expected from the former Manchester City winger going forward.

Al-Ittihad have put together what promises to be the meanest midfield duo in the league this season after pairing N'Golo Kante with Fabinho, and it was the Brazilian who particularly impressed in the opening round of games. Fabinho controlled the midfield throughout his side's 3-0 win over Al-Raed on Monday, with the supporters offering him huge cheers when he was substituted late on.

Three points and the adulation of the fans wasn't the only gift the ex-Liverpool man received, though, as Saudi presenter Ibrahim Al-Frayan presented Fabinho with a brand new Rolex watch as he left the stadium.

Al-Frayan has also promised to grant the same watch as a gift to Neymar, presuming he completes his transfer to Al-Hilal in the coming days.