Saudi Pro League: Al-Hilal Crowned Again

When Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr, all eyes were set on him. The Portuguese star was expected to bring his team glory and trophies. However, the Saudi Pro League will not be in his hands for the second year in a row. Al-Hilal wrapped up its 19th league victory by clarifying its intentions against Al-Hazem (4-1).

Al-Hilal set up in its usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with Aleksandar Mitrović opening the score through a penalty in the fifteenth minute. While everything seemed to indicate a comfortable star for Al-Hilal, Al-Hazem had different ideas. Selemani’s equalizer in the 34th minute surprised the stadium, but the effort was undone five minutes later as Al-Juwaid unluckily landed a goal in his own net. Al-Hilal’s delegation made sure to finish the job as Mitrović scored another to complete his brace, while his colleague, Sergej Milinković-Savić, put the game to bed.

Despite already being 4-1 up by half-time, Al-Hilal manager Jorge Jesus shuffled his team to push his eleven further forward by substituting a few players. The second half-time was less eventful, but it still saw Al-Hilal occupy most of the attacking momentum, with players being placed higher on average after all substitutions. Al-Hazem never found the solutions and was simply pushed back. In many ways, this is a great reflection of Al-Hilal’s campaign, as they now placed 14 points ahead of Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr. This victory confirmed that the title celebrations could begin.