Al-Hilal claim needlessly difficult victory as Summerville makes Saudi Pro League debut

RIYADH: It might come as a surprise to some that Simone Inzaghi is now one of the longest-serving head coaches in the Saudi Pro League, after just over 14 months in charge of Al-Hilal.

While the Riyadh side finished second, and unbeaten, in the league last season, and reached the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup, many fans were not happy with the style of play that became the norm under the Italian.

This prompted Inzaghi to assure them that the team would engage in a more attacking style of play this season. After the first competitive 90 minutes of the new campaign, it is safe to say he kept his word.

His promise appeared to come with some caveats, however; while his side looked comfortable for the first hour, despite the large share of possession enjoyed by visiting Al-Faisaly, the spaces between Al-Hilal’s midfield and defense, which were a glaring weakness last season, were once again clearly exposed in the second half.

Al-Hilal fans will feel that this should not have been the case, given that their team were 3-0 ahead after less than half an hour.

Karim Benzema grabbed his first goal of the season from the penalty spot in the 19th minute, before Malcom curled a shot into the roof of the net with a deflected free-kick in the 26th. Two minutes later, new signing Crysencio Summerville made a darting run into the box where he was brought down to win his side’s second penalty. Ruben Neves stepped up to calmly convert, and Al-Hilal saw out the remainder of the first half comfortably.

Summerville’s debut will have left fans wanting more from him, despite a bright first half during which he broke through the Al-Faisaly defense on more than one occasion. In the second half, however, he looked out of sorts. It is