It’s been a wild ride for the Tigers. If you’ve been glued to the Saudi Pro League lately, you know that looking at the Al Ittihad club standings isn't just about counting points; it's about tracking a massive cultural shift in Jeddah. After that painful 2023-24 campaign where the club finished a distant fifth—missing out on Asian elite football entirely—the vibe at King Abdullah Sports City has shifted from despair to a sort of cautious, loud-mouthed optimism.
They're back. Mostly.
The current table shows a team that has finally stopped leaking goals like a rusty pipe. Under Laurent Blanc, the tactical setup has morphed into something much more stable than the chaotic final days of Nuno Espírito Santo or the fragmented era of Marcelo Gallardo. People forget how bad it got. Last year, the gap between Ittihad and the top was a literal chasm. Now? They are breathing down the necks of Al Hilal. It’s tight. Every weekend feels like a final because, honestly, it kind of is when you’re chasing a team that forgets how to lose.
The Numbers Behind the Climb
Let's get into the grit of it. When you pull up the Al Ittihad club standings, the first thing that jumps out isn't just the win column, it's the goal difference. Karim Benzema looks like he actually wants to be there again. That’s huge. Last season, he was a ghost of himself, plagued by injuries and rumors of discontent. This year, his link-up play with Moussa Diaby has transformed the attack.
Diaby is a cheat code in this league.
His pace on the wing has forced opposing fullbacks to drop deeper, which opens up massive pockets of space for Houssem Aouar to operate. If you look at the heat maps from their recent matches against mid-table sides like Al Khaleej or Al Fateh, the dominance in the final third is staggering. They aren't just winning; they are suffocating teams.
But it’s not all sunshine. The standings reflect a team that still struggles with high-pressure transitions. In their clashes with the "Big Four" rivals, particularly Al Hilal and Al Nassr, the defensive line has looked shaky when exposed. Fabinho has been doing the work of three men in midfield, but he’s not getting younger. The stats show that when Fabinho is bypassed, the center-backs—often a rotating door due to fitness issues—tend to panic.
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Why the Current Ranking is Deceptive
You can’t just look at the points. You have to look at the schedule. Al Ittihad had a relatively "kind" opening run compared to Al Ahli, for example. This has inflated their position in the Al Ittihad club standings slightly, leading some fans to declare the title race over. It isn't. Not by a long shot.
The real test comes in the "away" blocks. Playing in Riyadh is a different beast than playing in the humid air of Jeddah. We’ve seen a trend where the squad’s intensity drops after the 70th minute. Is it fitness? Is it the age of the core players? It’s probably a bit of both.
- Home form: They are basically a fortress at the "Jewel."
- Away form: Still some head-scratching draws that shouldn't happen.
- Goal Distribution: Heavily reliant on the front three, which is a risk if injury strikes.
Actually, the injury point is the one that keeps most Jeddah natives up at night. The depth behind Benzema is... well, it’s thin. If the captain goes down, the goal-scoring burden shifts to Steven Bergwijn, who is talented but hasn't always been the most consistent finisher in high-stakes moments.
The Laurent Blanc Effect
Blanc brought a "French touch" that was sorely needed. He didn't come in trying to reinvent the wheel. He just fixed the locker room. You can see it in the way the players celebrate. There’s a cohesion now that was non-existent twelve months ago. In the Al Ittihad club standings, this psychological shift translates to about 6 to 9 "extra" points—games they would have drawn or lost last year, they are now grinding out 1-0 wins.
That’s the hallmark of a champion, or at least a serious contender.
The tactical shift to a 4-2-3-1 has provided more cover for the aging legs in the squad. By keeping the lines tighter, Ittihad doesn't have to sprint 60 yards back on every turnover. It’s smarter football. It’s "old man" football in the best way possible. They control the tempo. They dictate the play. They wait for you to make a mistake, and then Diaby punishes you.
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Looking at the Rivals
You can't talk about where Ittihad stands without talking about Al Hilal. Jorge Jesus has built a machine over there. For Al Ittihad to actually leapfrog them in the standings, they don't just need to keep winning; they need Hilal to have a genuine crisis.
- Al Hilal: The gold standard. Rarely drop points.
- Al Nassr: Inconsistent but capable of outscoring anyone if Ronaldo is on a tear.
- Al Shabab: The dark horse that keeps taking points off the big guys.
Ittihad’s current position is a result of being more consistent than Al Nassr but less clinical than Al Hilal. It’s a respectable second or third-place fight right now, depending on the week. But for a club that considers itself the "People’s Club," anything less than first feels like a failure. The pressure from the stands is immense. The "Tifo" displays are world-class, but they come with the expectation of silverware.
The Financial Fair Play Factor
People keep asking why Ittihad didn't spend even more in the last window. The reality is that the Saudi Pro League’s internal regulations and the squad quotas are starting to bite. You can’t just stack 20 foreigners anymore. Every move has to be calculated. The Al Ittihad club standings are a reflection of smart recruitment rather than just "big" recruitment. Bringing in Predrag Rajković as the goalkeeper was perhaps the smartest move of the summer. He’s saved them at least 10 points with his shot-stopping ability.
Without a top-tier keeper, Ittihad would be sitting comfortably in 6th or 7th.
What to Watch for in the Second Half of the Season
As the season progresses, the AFC Champions League (or the lack of it for Ittihad this year) is actually a blessing in disguise. While Hilal and Nassr are flying across the continent, Ittihad can rest. They can focus. Their legs will be fresher in March and April. This is when I expect to see a real push.
If you’re tracking the Al Ittihad club standings, watch the "Games Played" column very carefully. Any backlog of fixtures for their rivals is an opening for the Tigers.
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Honestly, the league is better when Ittihad is good. The Jeddah Derby against Al Ahli is the best atmosphere in the Middle East, bar none. When that match impacts the top of the table, the energy in the country shifts. Right now, Ittihad is holding up their end of the bargain.
Actionable Strategy for Following the Race
If you want to stay ahead of the curve on where the club is heading, don't just check the score app after the game.
Watch the yellow card accumulation. Ittihad plays a physical style, and they are often one or two suspensions away from a defensive crisis. Keep an eye on the injury reports for Luiz Felipe; his presence or absence usually dictates how high the defensive line can push.
Monitor the "expected goals" (xG). If Ittihad starts winning games where their xG is significantly lower than their opponents, a regression is coming. But so far, their metrics are sustainable. They are creating high-quality chances and limiting the opposition to long-range desperation shots.
Check the Asian qualifying breaks. A huge portion of the squad travels for international duty. How they return from these breaks—especially the long flights for the South American and European contingents—often determines the result of the following weekend.
The path to the top is narrow. It requires Al Ittihad to be perfect and Al Hilal to be human. Whether that happens or not, the Tigers have at least made the conversation interesting again. They aren't just a mid-table team with a few stars; they are a cohesive unit that finally looks like it belongs at the summit of Saudi football.
Stay focused on the head-to-head records. In the Saudi Pro League, tiebreakers often come down to those specific matchups rather than just overall goal difference. That December window is going to be the make-or-break period for their season ambitions.