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 possible he was struggling to adapt to the stifling Riyadh heat, something fans might have assumed would not be an issue after his performances for the Netherlands at the 2026 World Cup in the heat of the North American summer. Singling out Summerville alone for criticism would be harsh, though, because collectively Al-Hilal seemed to lose focus after the break. Al-Faisaly saw a chance to pounce, and in the space of five minutes around the hour mark they pulled the score back to 3-2. This was largely thanks to Theo Bongonda. The winger threaded a through pass to Jaime Seoane, who held off Moteb Al-Harbi and delivered a low cross for Alexandre Mendy to finish past Yassine Bounou. Minutes later, Abdoulaye Seck headed a loose ball over the Al-Hilal midfield to find Christian Bassogog, whose lobbed through ball found Bongonda waiting to head home the visitors' second. Al-Faisaly almost completed a remarkable comeback minutes later when Mendy was sent clear on goal, only for Bounou to produce a vital save that kept Al-Hilal in front. Inzaghi responded to the shifting momentum by bringing om Mohammed Kader Meite for a frustrated Benzema, a substitution that paid immediate dividends; Meite proved to be a constant nuisance to the Al-Faisaly defense and in the 82nd minute won Al-Hilal's third penalty, which Neves once again converted. The nature of refereeing decisions in the SPL means that however clear-cut they might have been, the fact that three were awarded to Al-Hilal in a single game quickly became a point of great controversy on social media. Al-Hilal were not the only beneficiaries of multiple penalties on Friday, however. In Dammam, Al-Ettifaq claimed a 4-2 home victory against Al-Riyadh, with Mousa Dembele scoring a hat-trick, two of his goals coming from the spot. Though the scoreline appeared comfortable, however, the result nevertheless leaves a question mark or two over Arthur Papas' side, given that Al-Riyadh twice managed to draw level after falling behind, despite playing with 10 men for 84 minutes after Rodrigo Abascal was shown a straight red for bringing down Dembele when he was through on goal. In Friday's other game, Said Benrahma and Alexandre Lacazette shone as 10-man NEOM recorded a 2-1 home victory over Al-Fayha. Benrahma set up the first goal of the night for highly sought-after midfielder Amadou Kone in the 26th minute, and 10 minutes later Lacazette delivered a low cross to Benrahma, who claimed the second. Al-Fayha managed to pull one back through Hugo Moura in the 75th minute, but Christophe Galtier's side held on for the victory. On Saturday, Al-Taawoun are at home to Al-Khaleej at 7:15 p.m., Al-Ittihad welcome Al-Kholood at 9 p.m for a repeat of last season's King Cup semi-final, and Al-Nassr kick off their title defense against visiting Al-Fateh at Al-Awwal Park, also at 9 p.m.