Firmino Ronaldo GFXGetty/GOAL

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

Following the influx of a number of global superstars over the past couple of months, the new Saudi Pro League season got under way this past weekend. Never has excitement been higher around a division that, while regularly competitive, has previously made little impact on fans globally, with supporters keen to see some of the new-look teams in action.

It was an opening round to forget, however, for Al-Nassr, who were beaten 2-1 by Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq on Monday. Without captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who suffered a minor injury in the final of the Arab Club Champions Cup just 48 hours earlier, Luis Castro's side saw their hopes of making a winning start to their title bid evaporate, despite taking an early lead through Sadio Mane.

The result leaves Al-Nassr towards the bottom of the early table, but the same can't be said for their presumed title rivals. Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli all made winning starts, with some of the recent foreign imports making immediate impacts for their new clubs.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the first round of Saudi Pro League action...

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