Al-Hilal's Perfect Start Shattered by Neom
Al-Hilal’s perfect start to the Roshn League season was shattered before a ball was even kicked.
During the warm-up, first-choice goalkeeper Yassine Bounou pulled up injured, clutching at what looked like a muscle problem. In an instant, Simone Inzaghi’s plans were ripped up. The Italian coach had to abandon his script and throw Saudi keeper Mohammed Al-Owais into the XI at the last moment.
From there, the night never really recovered for Al-Hilal.
Chaos from the back
The early signs were worrying. Al-Owais looked uncertain, the back line jittery in front of him. Neom sensed it immediately. They pressed high, snapped into duels and forced Al-Hilal into mistakes, turning the opening half into a barrage on the hosts’ penalty area.
The pressure told after just 15 minutes.
Kalidou Koulibaly, usually the calm anchor at the heart of the defence, misjudged a header and diverted the ball into his own net. A stunned stadium watched the Senegalese defender give Neom the lead with a finish no striker could have executed cleaner.
For Al-Hilal, it was a nightmare cocktail: the psychological blow of losing Bounou, followed almost straight away by a self-inflicted wound from their defensive leader. Inzaghi suddenly found himself chasing a game against an opponent already brimming with belief.
Al-Owais error deepens the crisis
Al-Hilal tried to steady themselves, to stitch some control into a frantic half. But every Neom attack seemed to expose another crack. The uncertainty at the back never lifted.
Then came the 44th minute.
Al-Owais rushed off his line in a desperate attempt to snuff out danger. He got nowhere near it. The ball broke loose, Al-Hilal’s defence froze, and it was Neom who reacted first. Amadou Koné seized on the chaos, punishing the hosts with a composed finish to make it 2-0.
What started as an enforced change had grown into a full-blown crisis. Bounou’s absence loomed over every mistake. Al-Owais, thrust into the spotlight without warning, struggled to impose authority, while the Koulibaly-led back line offered little protection. Neom didn’t need a second invitation; they walked into the space and doubled their advantage.
Neom lean on a ruthless record
The numbers painted the challenge in stark terms. Opta data showed Neom had won all three matches this season in which they scored first during the opening five rounds of the Roshn League.
Now they had two on the board.
For Al-Hilal, that statistic felt like a wall. Not only were they two goals down, they were up against a side that had already proven it could lock games down once in front. Neom’s confidence, already high at kick-off, soared with every minute that passed.
This was not how the sixth round was supposed to look for the league leaders. Al-Hilal had arrived with a flawless record: five wins from five, 15 points, and the swagger of a side that had barely been troubled. One injury, a flurry of errors, and that composure evaporated.
A rare sight for the league giants
When the half-time whistle went, the scoreboard told its own story: Al-Hilal 0–2 Neom.
Seeing Al-Hilal trail by two at the break in the Pro League is almost an anomaly. The last time it happened was against Al-Fateh in May 2025, when they also went in 2-0 down before launching a ferocious second-half comeback to win 4-3.
That memory will have lingered in the stands and on the touchline. The question now is simple: can this version of Al-Hilal, rocked by Bounou’s injury and betrayed by individual mistakes, summon the same response as that night against Al-Fateh—or will Neom’s ruthless record hold firm?
