Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus believes his side鈥檚 3-0 victory over Al-Nassr in the Riyadh derby on Friday was a perfect advert for the new-look Saudi Pro League.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic opened the scoring for Al-Hilal in the second half before a late brace from Aleksandar Mitrovic put the result beyond doubt in an often-fiery encounter at King Fahd Stadium.
鈥淚 want to pass a message to the fans that this game was a very good spectacle for the Roshn Saudi League,鈥� Jesus said.
鈥淚t was broadcast all over the world and was a great showcase for Saudi football. It was a high-quality game with high-quality players. The game, until right at the end, was of the highest competitive level between the two teams.鈥�
It appeared that Cristiano Ronaldo had grabbed an equalizer for Al-Nassr with a smart back-post finish, but it was ruled out for offside, leading to vociferous protestations from the visitors鈥� players and coaching staff. Al-Nassr coach Luis Castro was particularly irate, something Jesus feels is to be expected.
鈥淚t鈥檚 natural that Luis look at the game differently because he ended up losing 3-0,鈥� Jesus added. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 like to comment on the referee鈥檚 decisions and on any of his criticisms of the referee鈥檚 decisions.
鈥淲e won 3-0 because we were the better team individually and collectively. In the first 30 minutes, we could already have been two or three goals up.
鈥淚n the second half, we positioned ourselves a little differently on the field while still transitioning well between defense and attack. At the end, we were better and could鈥檝e won by more.鈥�
Jesus praised the continued resilience of his players in the face of Neymar鈥檚 season-ending injury, with the Portuguese coach suggesting that Al-Hilal will deregister their star forward to free up a spot in their squad.
鈥淲e鈥檙e used to playing without him 鈥� The whole team has grown stronger together,鈥� Jesus said. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 like to imagine Al-Nassr without Cristiano, Al-Ahli without Mahrez or Al-Ittihad without Benzema 鈥� how would they be with the loss of those influential players?
鈥淲e lost a player that today we could say would鈥檝e made us much stronger with the presence of Neymar. Without him, we鈥檙e still doing well as a group.
鈥淛anuary we鈥檒l add, and a player is going to replace Neymar. Neymar is going to go out and for sure a player is going to come. He should be replaced. It鈥檚 not a reinforcement, more an adjustment.鈥�
Al-Hilal are now seven points clear at the top of the Saudi Pro League table, though Jesus insists his leaders are taking nothing for granted.
鈥淚n my experience, seven points doesn鈥檛 guarantee anything. Yes we鈥檝e had a good season, but there are no guarantees in football.
鈥淲e have to prepare ourselves for difficult moments to come because the league is very competitive.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy with the three points today, but I want to say to the fans that nothing has been achieved yet.鈥�
Losing Al-Nassr coach Castro admitted that the seven-point deficit will be tough to make up, saying: 鈥淚t鈥檒l be difficult. For every team in the championship, it鈥檒l be difficult. But we push and we keep going.
鈥淲e keep applying pressure because it鈥檚 still a long way to go in the championship. We鈥檙e going to compete.鈥�