Marino Pusic named Ivan Toney in Al-Ahli's starting line-up for Friday's Al-Ahli vs Al-Riyadh match in the fifth round of the Saudi league, with the forward included in an attacking trident that also featured Francisco Trincao and Wanderson Galeno.
That selection gave Al-Ahli a front line built for pace and movement, while also putting the focus squarely on Toney after he was chosen alongside two other attacking options. In a league match where lineups matter as much as the final score, Pusic signaled early that Al-Ahli would lean on its most direct threat from the first whistle.
Al-Ahli lined up with Edouard Mendy, Rayan Hamed, Mohammed Bakr, Roger Ibanez, Saad Balobaid, Valentin Atangana, Artem Bondarenko, Edward Spertsyan, Francisco Trincao, Wanderson Galeno and Ivan Toney. Al-Riyadh responded with Milan Borjan, Sultan Al-Issa, Abdelilah Al-Khaibari, Rodrigo Abascal, Sulaiman Hazazi, Fahad Jizani, Victor Lekhal, Teddy Okou, Issam Bahri, Hassan Al-Ali and Antonis.
The cleanest reading of the lineup is simple: Pusic trusted a front three that could stretch the field and turn one opening into several. The unanswered part is not who started, but how quickly that choice will show up on the scoreboard when Al-Ahli and Al-Riyadh meet in the fifth round.
