Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus believes his side’s 3-0 victory over Al-Nassr in the Riyadh derby on Friday was a perfect advert for the new-look Saudi Pro League.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring for Al-Hilal in the second half before a late brace from Aleksandar Mitrovic put the result beyond doubt in an often-fiery encounter at King Fahd Stadium.
“I want to pass a message to the fans that this game was a very good spectacle for the Roshn Saudi League,” Jesus said.
“It was broadcast all over the world and was a great showcase for Saudi football. It was a high-quality game with high-quality players. The game, until right at the end, was of the highest competitive level between the two teams.”
It appeared that Cristiano Ronaldo had grabbed an equalizer for Al-Nassr with a smart back-post finish, but it was ruled out for offside, leading to vociferous protestations from the visitors’ players and coaching staff. Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro was particularly irate, something Jesus feels is to be expected.
“It’s natural that Luis look at the game differently because he ended up losing 3-0,” Jesus added. “I wouldn’t like to comment on the referee’s decisions and on any of his criticisms of the referee’s decisions.
“We won 3-0 because we were the better team individually and collectively. In the first 30 minutes, we could already have been two or three goals up.
“In the second half, we positioned ourselves a little differently on the field while still transitioning well between defense and attack. At the end, we were better and could’ve won by more.”
Jesus praised the continued resilience of his players in the face of Neymar’s season-ending injury, with the Portuguese coach suggesting that Al-Hilal will deregister their star forward to free up a spot in their squad.
“We’re used to playing without him … The whole team has grown stronger together,” Jesus said. “I wouldn’t like to imagine Al-Nassr without Cristiano, Al-Ahli without Mahrez or Al-Ittihad without Benzema — how would they be with the loss of those influential players?
“We lost a player that today we could say would’ve made us much stronger with the presence of Neymar. Without him, we’re still doing well as a group.
“January we’ll add, and a player is going to replace Neymar. Neymar is going to go out and for sure a player is going to come. He should be replaced. It’s not a reinforcement, more an adjustment.”
Al-Hilal are now seven points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League table, though Jesus insists his leaders are taking nothing for granted.
“In my experience, seven points doesn’t guarantee anything. Yes we’ve had a good season, but there are no guarantees in football.
“We have to prepare ourselves for difficult moments to come because the league is very competitive.
“I’m happy with the three points today, but I want to say to the fans that nothing has been achieved yet.”
Losing Al-Nassr coach Castro admitted that the seven-point deficit will be tough to make up, saying: “It’ll be difficult. For every team in the championship, it’ll be difficult. But we push and we keep going.
“We keep applying pressure because it’s still a long way to go in the championship. We’re going to compete.”