Ange Postecoglou has taken Saudi's top league by storm, linking up with the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo at 11-time champions Al Nassr after a disastrous stint at Nottingham Forest.
Al Nassr, defending their 2025-26 Saudi Pro League title, won all five competitive matches in August, also advancing in the King's Cup.
That run came to an end at the weekend when they were shocked 2-1 away by Al Ittihad, but not before Postecoglou was awarded the league's August Manager of the Month award.
The Saudi league has given Postecoglou an obstacle he admitted he has never faced as a professional manager, with his club playing their first five games of the new campaign across a 15-day period - a challenge he says he's used to at the back-end of the season, but not the start.
So how did our overseas players fare this weekend?
Anthony Caceres assisted his team's opening goal on debut for Bangkok United as they defeated Sisaket United 3-1 in the opening round of the new Thai League season. His rating of 7.6 out of 10 was the fifth-best on the pitch and also featured two key passes and a passing accuracy of 94%.
Jason Cummings scored in his first starting appearance for new side Ho Chi Minh as they defeated Hanoi FC 3-1 in the opening round of the new V-League season.
Ajdin Hrustic scored his first UAE Pro League goal for Al Nasr in his third start as his team lost 2-1 at home despite being warm favourites. He was the second-best player on the park, rating 8.1 out of 10 for making five key passes, 12 accurate passes in the final third and one big chance in addition to his goal.
Over in Spain, Maty Ryan rated 7.7 out of 10 when making three saves in a clean sheet La Liga draw away to Malaga.
From Spain to Strain: Ryan Strain assisted Scottish relegation contender Falkirk's fourth-minute match opener in their surprise 1-1 draw away to Dundee United, giving his side their second point from five rounds of the Scottish Premiership season. He also missed a big chance to score, bringing his rating down to 7.0 out of 10.
Mo Toure scored his fourth competitive goal of the season, putting Norwich 2-1 up before half-time in a 3-1 win away to Sheffield United. The Canaries are back in the top-half of the EFL Championship as a result.
In other news...
Daniel Arzani started in left midfield for Ferencvaros and rated 7.4 out of 10 thanks to a game-high of four successful dribbles, whilst he also made two key passes.
Max Balard recorded a 6.1 out of 10 rating in a 45-minute starting stint for Dutch club NAC Breda as they lost 4-2 away to Waalwijk.
Patrick Beach had a nightmare afternoon at home to Strasbourg, making six saves but conceding six goals in a 6-2 loss. He rated a match-worst 5.0 out of 10 as a result.
Martin Boyle rated a shocking 5.4 out of 10 playing on the right wing for Hibs after he gave away a first-half penalty in a 2-1 loss away to St Johnstone.
Alessandro Circati made his Portuguese league debut off the bench but was booked in a 28-minute stint, passing with just 79% accuracy and rating 6.6 out of 10.
Milos Degenek helped Cypriot club APOEL record their first win of the season as they thrashed AEL Limassol 6-0.
Lucas Herrington played a quiet 19 minutes off the bench in Hull's 0-0 draw at home to Aston Villa.
Nestory Irankunda made his third consecutive appearance as a sub for new club Sporting CP, rating 6.8 out of 10. He had two shots off target from inside the box.
Jackson Irvine passed at just 76% accuracy in Cerezo Osaka's 0-0 draw at home to Verdy, but rated a 7.1 out of 10 after winning eight of nine individual duels.
Jacob Italiano played the second half of Grazer AK's 2-0 Swiss Cup win away to third-tier side Kitzbuhel.
Paul Izzo made two saves and kept a clean sheet to rate 7.3 out of 10 in Randers' 3-0 league win at Brondby.
Fran Karacic was booked, missed a big chance to score, lost seven out of 11 individual duels and subsequently rated 5.9 out of 10 in Lokomotiv Zagreb's 2-1 league loss away to fellow bottom-half club Slaven Belupo.
Riley McGree was Middlesbrough's tenth-best player with a rating of 6.8 out of 10, having missed a big chance to score in their 1-0 win at QPR.
Connor Metcalfe played a quiet 45 minutes off the bench in Bundesliga 2, rating 6.7 out of 10, as St. Pauli continued their winless start to the league season (D3, L1), having only just dropped down to the second tier.
Paul Okon-Engstler rated 6.5 out of 10 in Koln's 4-1 loss away to Stuttgart. He passed at 96% accuracy but did not make any significant contributions to scoring chances.
Aiden O'Neill made his comeback from ankle surgery, playing for New York City for the first time since the World Cup. He played just 20 minutes off the bench in a 0-0 draw at home to Eastern Conference leaders Nashville, hitting the target in ten of 12 passes and rating 6.5 out of 10.
O'Neill's compatriot, Patrick Yazbek, played 66 minutes and rated 6.5 out of 10 after being booked for Nashville and making a game-best seven accurate passes into the final third.
Alex Robertson made 53 accurate passes and was booked in Cardiff's 2-0 loss away to Portsmouth, rating 6.6 out of 10.
Sam Silvera played just 17 minutes off the bench for MK Dons in a 3-3 draw with Wycombe Wanderers, rating 6.3 out of 10.
Harry Souttar's Leicester were $1.50 favourites at home to Oxford United in League One action only to be slapped 4-0, with Souttar winning just one duel, making four clearances but recording a game-high 95 accurate passes at 95% to rate 6.3 out of 10.
Gianni Stensness rated 6.8 out of 10 in Viking's Round 20 Eliteserien draw away to Sandefjord, with his team three points behind league leaders Bodo/Glimt. Stensness made four clearances, six recoveries and blocked two shots.
Marco Tilio played 65 minutes without scoring in SK Rapid's 5-2 Cup win away to third-tier Klagenfurt.
Nishan Velupillay played a full 90 minutes for Ingolstadt in Germany's third-tier as they lost 3-0 at home to outsiders Aachen.
Cristian Volpato rated just 6.3 out of 10 - the equal-fifth worst of both teams - having done very little in his 38 minutes off the bench for Sassuolo.
Tete Yengi played 24 minutes off the bench in Machida Zelvia's 3-1 win at Nagoya, rating 6.4 out of 10.
Yengi's teammate, Mitch Duke, played just four minutes.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
