Title certainties? How Inzaghi has Al Hilal sitting pretty at summit

Benjamin Franklin once said, “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

He forgot about Al Hilal.

The Riyadh giants, despite not winning the Roshn Saudi League for the past two seasons, continue to be a standard bearer. Their relentless pursuit of excellence deserves every bit of recognition.

Last season, despite going undefeated, Al Hilal fell just short against Al Nassr despite taking the fight to the final day.

But beware a wounded Al Hilal. As a club, the Riyadh giants don’t like losing. They certainly don’t like making a habit of it.

So, over the summer, Al Hilal set about adding the quality to their squad they needed to leap ahead of their rivals.

The arrival of Ollie Watkins, Gabriel Martinelli and Crysencio Summerville has completely revitalised their attack. Not that they were ever really found wanting in that respect - they still scored 85 goals last season, after all - but it was also true they required a fresh dynamism.

After 11 games this season - they still have a game in hand over other teams - the stats support just how much the arrival of the trio has improved Al Hilal.

They have both the best attack and defence in the league, scoring 32 goals and conceding only nine. They also boast the highest xG rating (38.1), most clean sheets (six) and the highest passing accuracy (87.4 percent).

Al Hilal are machine-like in the way they operate, and Simone Inzaghi deserves credit for how he has adapted to find the best system that suits the talent at his disposal.

At Italian giants Inter Milan, whom he took to the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League final before moving to Al Hilal, the Italian had established his identity around a structured 3-5-2 formation.

It was one he was expected to bring to Saudi Arabia.

And while he experimented with formations last season, this campaign Inzaghi has built the team around a fluid 4-3-3. It’s one that’s about getting as many players as possible into dangerous, scoring positions.

“We have many attacking solutions, and we are working with the technical staff to create suitable opportunities for all players to contribute to scoring goals,” Inzaghi said last month.

That is reflected in the fact that Al Hilal have 11 different scorers this season, more than any other side in the league.

Within their system, the full-backs are as attacking as they always have been; one of which is one of this season’s breakout talents, Mohammed Mahzari.

The 24-year-old arrived in the summer following three seasons with Al Taawoun, and with the right=back position still open after the departure of Joao Cancelo.

“We had some challenges at right-back last season, and we have been following Mahzari since then… he has been performing very well,” Inzaghi said recently.

Mahzari, Man of the Match last time out against Al Fateh, has made that position his own this season. But he is far from the only Saudi player to have won Inzaghi’s trust.

In midfield, Mohammed Kanno and Nasser Al Dawsari share an important role alongside Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, while Sultan Mandash has picked up from where he left off last season. Nominally a substitute, he has three goals and three assists.

“Sultan has been performing very well since the start of the season… and is one of the outstanding Saudi players,” Inzaghi said earlier this campaign.

But, for as much as recent arrivals have refreshed the squad, it’s some of Al Hilal’s apparent “old guard” that continue to set the standard, especially Neves.

Having signed a new contract this year to keep him at the club until 2029, he has not let his standards slip. His 31 chances created through the opening few months of the 2026027 RSL is ranked No.1 at Al Hilal and, across the league, second only to Al Nassr superstar Joao Felix.

Meanwhile, Neves’ 473 passes in the opposition half sits as the third most in the division – a division in which Al Hilal sit top heading into this international break, with 10 wins from 11 matches.

Neves, as he typically seems to be, has been integral to that surge to the summit. With five goals and three assists of his own, he remains the barometer for Inzaghi’s side, and as Watkins himself explained, he and Milinkovic-Savic make his job easy.

“Ruben [Neves] and Sergey [Milinkovic-Savic] are very intelligent players and all I need to do is make the run,” said the summer signing from Aston Villa.

With one-third of the season already done, Al Hilal have planted their flag firmly in the ground. After two RSL-trophyless seasons, they’re looking to make certain that title once more.