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Sharing the booty in the capital: 5 things we learned from the Riyadh derby between Hilal and Al-Shabaab
The Riyadh derby ended 1-1 on Monday, with the defending champions and current leaders showing they don’t have much to choose between at the start of the Roshan Saudi league season.
Moussa Marega gave Al-Hilal the lead in the first half before Carlos Junior’s early second-half shot put Al-Shabaab in a tie, giving them a 19-point lead from seven games. They have a four-point lead over second-placed Al-Tai, but if Al-Ittihad and Al-Taawoun win on Tuesday, they could cut the gap to two points. Al-Hilal is currently fourth.
1. Al-Shabaab is the happier of the two teams
The leaders may drop points for the first time this season, 19 games after they last beat their rivals in Riyadh, but they could be a little happier in the stalemate. Al-Hilal had more chances to score and the penalty in the second half was also saved by Kim Seung-gyu. In short, the champions almost deserve to win the game, so it would be satisfying for Al-Shabaab to come back from a goal and save a penalty.
Al-Hilal is more eager to win the game. The three-game losing streak isn’t even a flash in the pan for most teams, but it’s almost a full-blown crisis for Asian football’s winning machine. A draw also means they are still five points behind the leaders.
Al-Shabaab sees it as a passed test and will be confident heading into the World Cup off-season with 22 points from eight games after finishing the first stage of the season at home against newly-promoted Kalij. That’s the form of winning.
2. Diaz feels the pressure
After the game, Al-Hilal boss Ramon Diaz pointed out that injuries had taken away his team’s stars, including Salman Al-Faraj, Salem Al-Dawsari and Matheus Pereira, and he had a point; he also had a point, the championship should win. Not bad, if Ighalo scored from a penalty early in the second half to make it 2-0, it should have been 3 points and second.
But that’s not the case, and excuses don’t carry much weight when it comes to Saudi Arabia and the most successful team in Asian football. Diaz said fans will really see the strength of the team when the injury situation improves, but he may not be there unless things improve.
The Argentine knows he has to beat Altai on Saturday or risk losing his job as the World Cup off-season looms. That’s the situation at the club. Last season’s heroics are a thing of the past. After all, Diaz replaced Leonardo Jardim less than three months after the Portuguese coach guided Al Hilal to a record fourth Asian Champions League title.
3. Al-Shabaab Hero Kim
South Korea’s No. 1 Kim Seung-gyu has only had to pick up the ball from behind the net in his first six games of the season since signing for Shabaab in the summer.
Perhaps the international goalkeeper was a little disappointed when he was beaten by Marega at the near post in the first half, even with a hard shot from close range. If so, he saved himself early in the second half. If Ighalo extends Hilal’s lead from a penalty, the game is likely to be over and the whole conversation around the two clubs will now be very different.
Kim had other ideas and worked very well down the right side to push the ball into a corner before he made another brilliant save to knock Michael’s shot over.
Not long after, Carlos equalized, not 2-0, but 1-1. Goalkeepers don’t often make headlines, but Kim’s save was the difference between a defeat that dealt a blow to al-Shabaab’s confidence and raised doubts about its title qualifications, and a draw that kept them well-positioned.
4. It was a proper derby
Derby may turn cautious for teams that care more about not losing than risking being too aggressive in their quest for victory. An outside observer might have expected two defences, who have conceded just three goals in total in their six games so far, happy to sit back and let the backline do their thing. Both teams wanted to win, but that wasn’t the case.
Al-Hilal got off to a particularly fast start as the race quickly turned into a fun one. This is end-to-end stuff. Marega yelled for an early penalty on the ball, and Santi Mina probably should have done better than the low shot he just brushed past the outside of Al-Hilal’s post. There were last-ditch tackles, delicious passes, and a lot more going on.
These are two of the best teams in Asia and they provide a good advertisement for the Saudi Pro League.
5. Al-Tai is now above Al-Hilal, now a key match
Objectively, Al-Hilal’s season started not bad at all, as the champions scored 14 points in seven games, a solid platform from which to advance to the next notch and challenge for the title. However, they are now behind their next opponents, Altai, who struggled to stay out of relegation for most of last season, finishing just four points above the relegation zone.
Now, after a 2-0 win over Al-Raed, first with a fine header from Guy Mbenza, who grabbed his second goal of the season, Al-Tai is flying. Even more impressive is that the team had 10 players in the second half, but still maintained a two-goal advantage and a clean sheet. Relegation should not be a problem this season, they are currently in an unlikely second place.
They confidently clash with Al-Hilal on Friday and who knows what will happen?
If Al-Taawoun, another relegation candidate from last season, beat Abha on Tuesday, they would be three points ahead of Al-Hilal and could lead Al-Tai into second place.
This is indeed a very interesting season.
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