Jorge Jesus hails ‘showcase for Saudi football’ after Al-Hilal derby win

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 the 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 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 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.