No Neymar, no problem as Al Hilal keep winning without the Brazilian

Al Hilal are odds on favourites to scoop the 2023-34 Roshn Saudi League title as, at the halfway point they currently hold a seven point advantage over Cristiano’s Al Nassr, 13 over Gabri Veiga’s Al Ahli and 22 over reigning champions, Karim Benzema’s Al Ittihad.

Unbeaten Al Hilal also have a chance to extend their lead as they face Al Feiha in the final league game before the Saudi League breaks for the Asian Cup break. The Riyadh based side have invested heavily, spending more than 300 million in signings this summer and are one of the four traditional powerhouses in the domestic Saudi league.

In August the Blue Waves paid 90 million euro to sign Neymar Jr. from PSG with the Brazilian destined to be one of the pillars in the ne project. An injury in October playing with Brazil saw the striker just pull on the Al Hilal blue jersey five times with Neymar just bagging one goal for the Saudi side.

Since Neymar was sidelined, Al Hilal have gone on an incredible run winning all 15 games the likes of Mitrovic (16 goals and 4 assists), Malcolm (9 and 5), Milinkovic Savic (8 and 4) step up to the mark with goalkeeper Yassine Bono keeping 14 clean sheets in 20 games.

Part of the merit for the Al Hilal success lies with Portuguese coach Jorge Jesús who is back with Al Hilal for a second time and has taken his team to the semifinals of the King’s Cup and in the Round of 16 of the Asian Champions League and the club have a historic treble in their sights. All, without the biggest star player in the club’s history as Neymar continues to recover from his torn ACL.