Al-Hilal's Win Masks Tactical Issues, Warns Nasser Al-Shamrani
Nasser Al-Shamrani did not join the celebrations.
While Al-Hilal opened their Roshn League campaign with a 4-2 win over Al-Faisaly, the club legend cut straight through the scoreline, warning that the result hid serious problems simmering beneath the surface.
Speaking on the “Dawrina Ghair” programme, Al-Shamrani argued that “the Boss” fell short of the standards their star-studded squad should be setting. The same recurring mistakes, he said, were still there, unchanged, leaving Simone Inzaghi and his staff with a heavy tactical headache despite the three points.
Bono the saviour, Koulibaly under scrutiny
If Al-Hilal walked away with a win, Yassine Bono walked away with the credit.
Al-Shamrani highlighted the Moroccan goalkeeper as the decisive figure against Al-Faisaly, insisting Bono’s interventions played a major role in keeping the match under control. His saves, the former striker suggested, covered up defensive cracks that again appeared in front of him.
“Bono's beauties are too much for Inzaghi,” Al-Shamrani said, underlining how the keeper’s reflexes and presence bailed Al-Hilal out of trouble. With a goalkeeper of that calibre, he stressed, the team enjoys a wider margin for error than most.
But that margin has limits.
Al-Shamrani also pointed to Kalidou Koulibaly as a central pillar in Inzaghi’s system, a defender whose level has a ripple effect across the entire side. When a team is built to compete for titles, he argued, the stability provided by the back line becomes non-negotiable, and Koulibaly’s displays inevitably shape the collective.
Same result, same flaws
The four goals did not convince Al-Shamrani that anything had really changed.
Despite the big scoreline, he insisted Al-Hilal showed nothing new from a technical standpoint. The issues that have dogged them under Inzaghi, in his view, were still clearly visible, and the victory should not be used as a shield against criticism or as a reason to ignore what is actually unfolding on the pitch.
He warned that these weaknesses must be addressed quickly. The Roshn League race will be unforgiving, and while Al-Hilal may continue to pick up wins, the same errors could prove fatal against stronger opponents who will not be as generous as Al-Faisaly.
So Inzaghi’s test has arrived early. The opening-day win delivered the right message on the scoreboard, but Al-Shamrani’s words carried a different one: at a club built on titles and expectations, results are only the starting point. The real judgment will come when Al-Hilal either fix those flaws—or pay for them.
