Al-Shamrani demands more from Al Hilal after opening-day victory

Nasser Al-Shamrani has warned Simone Inzaghi that Al Hilal’s 4-2 win over Al-Faisaly in the opening round of the Saudi Roshn League did not disguise the weaknesses still affecting the team.

The Al Hilal and Saudi Arabia legend said the result was not matched by a performance that reflected the quality and depth of Inzaghi’s squad. He argued that the side continued to make the same mistakes seen during the previous period, leaving the Italian manager facing an early challenge despite securing the start he wanted in terms of points.

Speaking on the television programme Dourina Ghair, Al-Shamrani praised the contribution of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who he believes played a significant role in preventing Al Hilal from conceding even more goals.

The Morocco international’s saves helped the team negotiate difficult moments against Al-Faisaly and, according to Al-Shamrani, concealed several deficiencies in the overall performance.

“Bounou has done Inzaghi many favours,” Al-Shamrani said, underlining the goalkeeper’s importance to Al Hilal. He added that having a player of Bounou’s quality gives the team greater room for error when problems emerge elsewhere on the pitch.

Al-Shamrani also identified the form of Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly as an important issue within the team. He said Koulibaly’s performance does not affect only the defender himself, but has consequences for the team as a whole, particularly because defensive stability is essential for any side competing for major honours.

Despite the emphatic scoreline, Al-Shamrani maintained that Al Hilal had not made any meaningful technical improvement. In his view, the team continues to display the same shortcomings that have appeared under Inzaghi, and the victory should not be allowed to distract from the problems visible during the match.

He called for those weaknesses to be addressed quickly, warning that the new season will bring a strong level of competition. If Al Hilal continues to make the same errors, he believes the team could eventually be punished by stronger opponents, even if it manages to collect victories in some matches.

The comments represent an early test for Inzaghi, who began his Al Hilal tenure with the kind of result the club wanted. However, Al-Shamrani’s assessment highlights that expectations extend beyond winning individual games.

For Al Hilal, the priority will now be to turn a promising result into a more convincing level of performance. The team’s ambitions for the new season require more than victories achieved while relying heavily on Bounou’s interventions, with greater defensive security and improved consistency needed if it is to meet those expectations.