Inzaghi admits Al Hilal defeat exposed second-half fatigue

Simone Inzaghi said Al Hilal’s 3-1 defeat by Al Shamal was painful after his side faded in the second half of their AFC Champions League Elite meeting in Al Khor.

The Saudi Arabian club were beaten by the Qatari side at Al Bayt Stadium on Tuesday, suffering their third defeat since Inzaghi became manager. The result came in the third round of the league phase of the continental competition.

“The defeat hurts me. This is the third defeat since I took charge of the team,” Inzaghi said at his post-match news conference, in comments reported by Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

Al Hilal produced what the Italian described as a good first-half performance but were unable to maintain that level after the break.

“We played a good first half, but in the second half, because of fatigue, we did not produce the performance that was expected,” he said. “We will return to Riyadh and prepare for our upcoming commitments.”

Inzaghi also explained why he made several changes to his starting line-up and substitutions during the match. He said a number of players were unavailable to travel, while others were not fit enough to take part.

“The only players who were not with us here were Mohammed Mahzari, Crissencio Summerville and Gabriel Martinelli,” he said.

Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic were included in the travelling party in the hope they could at least be fit enough to take a place on the bench. However, neither player was ready to feature.

“As for Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, we brought them with us hoping to prepare them at least to sit on the bench, but unfortunately neither of them was ready to play,” Inzaghi added.

The manager finished by praising captain Salem Al-Dawsari, who scored Al Hilal’s first goal of the match in his first start of the current season. He also highlighted Simon Boabri’s performance.

“I congratulate Salem Al-Dawsari and Simon Boabri on their performances. I am satisfied with them,” Inzaghi said.

Al Hilal are listed to face Al Fateh in the Saudi Roshn League on 31 October 2026 before meeting Al Shamal again in the AFC Champions League Elite on 3 November 2026.