“Painful Defeat”: Pressure Mounts as Simone Inzaghi’s Al Hilal Suffer 3–1 Loss to Al-Shamal
Al Hilal head coach Simone Inzaghi conceded that fatigue and crucial squad absences proved costly after his side slipped to a 3–1 defeat against Qatari outfit Al-Shamal in the AFC Champions League Elite at Al Bayt Stadium.
The Saudi powerhouse fell behind early in the eighth minute when Said opened the scoring for Al-Shamal. Al Hilal responded well before the interval, leveling matters through captain Salem Al-Dawsari, who capped off a swift counter-attacking movement driven by left-back Theo Hernández. However, the second half belonged entirely to the hosts. Baghdad Bounedjah restored Al-Shamal’s lead three minutes after the restart, before Mohamed Ben Romdhane struck six minutes later to double the advantage and seal a memorable victory.
Speaking in his post-match address, Inzaghi expressed disappointment over the performance drop following the break. “The defeat is painful,” Inzaghi noted. “We put in a fine first half, but in the second half, because of fatigue, we did not deliver the expected performance. We will return to Riyadh and prepare for our upcoming commitments.”
Inzaghi also pointed to significant squad depletion, with Gabriel Martinelli sidelined through injury, Crysencio Summerville suspended, and key midfielders Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinković-Savić unable to feature due to fitness concerns. Al Hilal remain on six points in the West region group phase as they prepare for a key upcoming fixture against Al-Sadd on November 3.
