Neom stun Al Hilal as Christophe Galtier celebrates ‘great achievement’

Neom produced one of the biggest results of their season by beating Al Hilal 2-0 at Kingdom Arena on Monday, with manager Christophe Galtier praising his players for a disciplined defensive display in the Roshn Saudi League.

The French coach said Neom had shown the concentration and determination required to overcome one of Asia’s strongest sides, while admitting that a degree of luck had also contributed to their victory.

“We achieved a great accomplishment and came away with an excellent result. I am extremely happy with what the team produced,” Galtier said at his post-match news conference.

Neom approached the game with confidence despite facing a team of Al Hilal’s stature. Galtier said he had urged his players to make the match as uncomfortable as possible for their opponents and believed the result could provide momentum for the remainder of the campaign.

“We went into the match with the right mentality, and I asked the players to make Al Hilal’s task difficult throughout the game,” he said.

“Matches like this require some luck, and we had that today. I hope this victory gives us an additional boost and raises our ambitions for the next period.”

Galtier also said the pressure before kick-off had been greater on Al Hilal than on Neom. The former Paris Saint-Germain manager suggested that this allowed his side to play with greater freedom and focus on executing their plan.

“I said before the game that it would not be difficult because the pressure was not on us; it was on Al Hilal,” Galtier said.

“We showed great strength defensively, and we also dealt well with the opportunities that came our way.”

The coach revealed that set-pieces and crossing situations had been a significant part of Neom’s preparations. He said the work had been developed over a longer period rather than introduced solely for this season.

“We focused heavily on set-pieces and trained on how to make the most of them. This work does not date only from the current season; it began last season,” he said.

Neom’s victory also represented a change in their fortunes against leading teams. Galtier acknowledged that his players had struggled to produce the required results against the strongest opponents last season, but believed the squad had since become more professional and mature.

“We were not getting the results we needed against the top teams last season, but the situation has changed this season. We now have a more professional team, and the players have also gained greater maturity,” he added.

Galtier underlined the scale of the achievement by pointing to Al Hilal’s standing in Asian football.

“When you face a team of Al Hilal’s size, considered one of the strongest teams in Asia, winning also requires a degree of good fortune,” he said.

He also praised the contribution of Saudi coach Mazen Al-Balawi, who works as part of his coaching staff. Galtier said Al-Balawi’s ambition and understanding of Saudi players had made a clear difference to the team.

“Mazen is a coach with great ambition. He works with us and helps the team clearly, especially because of his experience in dealing with Saudi players,” Galtier said, according to comments reported by Asharq Al-Awsat.