'Historic result' - Galtier, Koulibaly react as NEOM SC halt 47-game Al Hilal run

Christophe Galtier was in little doubt of the magnitude of the moment.

“A historic result for NEOM,” declared the Frenchman following his side’s upset 2-0 victory at Al Hilal on Monday night. 

“I'm already very happy for my players, for the whole club, for all our fans. I repeat once again, it was a historic victory here.”

Certainly, history was against NEOM Sports Club. Al Hilal were unbeaten in normal time in 54 matches across all competitions, 47 in all in the Roshn Saudi League, and five already to begin the 2026-27 league campaign.

In five RSL wins from five this term, the current table-toppers had scored 17 goals, and in front of an expectant crowd at Kingdom Arena, were debuting their star-studded, all-new attacking triumvirate from the start.

The most recent of the recruits, all plucked from the English Premier League, Gabriel Martinelli joined Crysencio Summerville and Ollie Watkins in the first XI.

However, NEOM SC had other ideas. On 16 minutes, Al Hilal defender Kalidou Koulibaly inadvertently directed a scramble from a corner past goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais and into his own net.

Right before half-time, Alexandre Lacazette crashed a header onto the home woodwork, leaving Amadou Kone to react quickest, and NEOM SC doubled their advantage.

Ultimately, and thanks to some great goalkeeping from Man of the Match Marcin Bulka, the visitors held on. That “historic” victory was theirs.

“I knew from the state of mind of my players that we were going to be able to make the match difficult for Al Hilal,” a proud Galtier said. “And my players made the match very difficult for Al Hilal. After all, in this kind of match, where the opponent is still superior, it takes a bit of success.

“We had a bit of success on a few defensive moves; we had Marcin Bulka, who was exceptional. But I want to go back to the state of mind of the team, of my players, which was the state of mind of a winning team."

Galtier added: “Coming here - I said two days ago - we had everything to win. [And] we won. It was a beautiful victory. 

“I hope this victory will bring even more confidence to my group, to my young players. Maybe they will be, after a victory like this one, ambitious in this championship.”

For the defeated, though, a dissection.

“We started the game very badly,” Al Hilal's Koulibaly said. “We lost every duel; we were not aggressive. They were better than us and we didn't have this good spirit and we took these two goals and to turn around our play.

“We didn't deserve to win or draw because we made a very, very bad game, because the aggressivity was not there from the first minute. 

“My own goal is a pity because we could play better. But I think that NEOM [SC] came with a lot of aggressivity - they pressed us, they made us have difficulties and we couldn't respond." 

If anything, the result impressed upon Koulibaly the ever-increasing competitiveness of the RSL. He will hope his Al Hilal teammates recognise the same.

“We have to watch the game, to watch the videos, to work hard - because we know nothing is easy in this league,” he said. “Every team come here and want to win. Today NEOM did it, pity for us. We have to work more.”