Inzaghi criticised after Al Hilal suffer surprise defeat by Al Shamal

Simone Inzaghi has faced fierce criticism after Al Hilal’s unexpected 3-1 defeat by Al Shamal in the AFC Champions League Elite.

The Saudi Pro League side were beaten by the Qatari club in a match played at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor on Tuesday, in the third round of the league phase.

Saudi journalist Abdullah Al-Fallatah blamed Inzaghi’s team selection and tactical decisions for the result, arguing that the Italian manager had underestimated Al Shamal and made excessive changes to his starting line-up.

Speaking to Thmanyah, the broadcaster of the Saudi Pro League, Al-Fallatah said: “I have withdrawn my statement that money is everything after what I saw from Al Hilal. Sometimes you have the money, but your manager comes along and wastes it.”

He added: “Money is not everything. You need a manager who knows how to manage those resources. The team has players worth one billion riyals, then he [Inzaghi] comes along and puts all the regular starters on the bench.”

Al-Fallatah also criticised the decision to rotate the squad against a side he believed should not have been taken lightly.

“He considered Al Shamal to be a recently established team, even though they challenged for the Qatari league title last season and have excellent players, with Riyad Mahrez among them,” he said.

The journalist acknowledged that the defeat did not end Al Hilal’s campaign and that the match was not a final, but said the club’s status demanded a stronger response.

“Of course, this is not the end of the road, and it was not the final of the competition,” he said. “But Al Hilal have their pride. They should not surrender in that way or leave all of their key players outside the team.”

Al-Fallatah described Inzaghi’s line-up as a second-string side lacking match sharpness and said the manager was solely responsible for the loss.

“Inzaghi played with second-choice players, all of whom were away from the atmosphere of competitive matches, and came up with a strange formula for defeat,” he said. “He bears responsibility for this loss without the slightest argument.”

He concluded: “Every manager has the right to rotate his squad, but what happened was not rotation. It was carelessness, damaging the team and showing a lack of respect for the opposition. That is why Inzaghi deserved the defeat.”

Inzaghi started the match with only three players regarded as regular first-team members: full-backs Moteb Al-Harbi and Theo Hernandez, and midfielder Mohamed Kanno. He selected replacement players in the rest of the starting XI.