· 2 min readIn this Al Hilal vs Al Ahli match, I analyse the key tactical moments, individual performances and turning points of the game.
Al Hilal came into this big game with the “obligation” to win and had a very talented Al Ahli side in front of them. The favoritism was clear, even more so at home, but this was one of those games that could say a lot about the difference between the two teams.
The start was completely chaotic, with fouls, arguments and a referee who seemed to lose control far too early. On the pitch, however, Hilal were much more dangerous. In the 9th minute, Summerville broke forward on a counter-attack, went past several players and found Mandash, who touched it into the path of Milinkovic-Savic, who calmly finished inside the box. 1-0. Summerville’s run was simply magical.
After the goal, Al Ahli grew into the game and started seeing more of the ball. Ivan Toney had a huge opportunity, practically inside the six-yard box, but put it over. And just when it looked like Ahli could start to balance things out, Hilal attacked again. Rúben Neves found Summerville inside the box, the Dutchman shot and Mendy once again looked poor. The goalkeeper could have done much more. 2-0.
Ahli then had several opportunities to get back into the game. Ziyad Al-Johani completely missed the target from an excellent position and, shortly afterwards, Demiral had two incredible chances in the same move. Hilal are far from perfect defensively, but Ahli were wasting too much.
And the chaos returned before half-time. Demiral, already on a yellow card, received a second yellow after a foul on Summerville and left Al Ahli with ten players for the entire second half. Fair or not, it was terrible news for a team that was already behind.
With an extra player, Hilal took complete control of the game. Inzaghi didn’t even need to accelerate. Al Ahli tried through counter-attacks, but rarely managed to create any danger, while Hilal managed their advantage with complete calm.
Watkins came on at half-time for his debut and almost scored immediately, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Still, his debut would have the perfect ending. In the 86th minute, Mandash crossed and Watkins pulled away from his marker to head the ball into the net. 3-0. First game, first goal. This is exactly what he was signed for.
Post-match
The scoreline ends up being harsh on Al Ahli, who had a decent amount of possession and created some good opportunities in the first half, but Hilal were much more efficient. Summerville was everywhere, Mendy had a night to forget and, after Demiral’s sending-off, the game was over, although it already looked over before then.
