Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring as Al Nassr beat Al Ettifaq 3-0 to give Stefano Pioli victory in his first match as coach of the Saudi Arabian club on Friday.
The Italian, who led AC Milan to the Serie A title in 2022, was appointed on Wednesday to succeed Luis Castro. The Portuguese coach was sacked the day before due to Al Nassr's slow start to the season, with just one win in three Saudi Pro League games.
Ronaldo, who missed Al Nassr's 1-1 AFC Champions League Elite draw with Iraq's Al-Shorta on Monday due to a viral infection, fired in from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute for his third goal of the season.
In the second half, Salem Al-Najdi and Anderson Talisca increased the score.
This was Al Ettifaq's first defeat of the season, but Steven Gerrard's side remained third while Al Nassr moved up to fourth place.
Al Ahli moved into fifth place after two goals from Ivan Toney helped the Jeddah club beat Damac 4-2.
Toney, signed in August from English Premier League club Brentford, opened the scoring for Gabri Veiga before scoring his first goals since joining Saudi Arabia.
Former Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino scored the other.
Al Hilal and Al Ittihad are first and second in the standings and will face each other on Saturday.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
