The team from Riyadh is carving out a beautiful sculpture of soccer in Saudi Arabia. Al Hilal, despite Al Nassr getting more eyes due to Cristiano Ronaldo, has done its job meticulously. The club in blue, even after losing Neymar, is still topping the Saudi Pro League chart by a distance. Spanish legend David Villa lauded and emphasized the importance of team cohesion and overall balance, which has made the club a big hit this season.

It was Al Hilal’s Riyadh rivals that started the trend of bringing the best players from Europe into their team. But the 18-time Saudi champions are showing exactly why they are one of the smartest clubs in the country.

Al Hilal is not just about Neymar, claims David Villa, and the numbers for the season show you exactly why!

The Saudi Pro League has turned into an intense market for players. Despite losing out on Neymar this season after spending $418 million, Al Hilal’s strategy still looks spot on. David Villa’s statement sheds light on this. In a recent interview, Villa stated, “Not just for Neymar, I think Al Hilal have a great roster, good defense, good midfielders, Milinkovic-Savic, Mitrovic, who is scoring a lot of goals, you know,” with an additional appreciation for soccer in Saudi Arabia. Keeping Neymar out, no team would have thought Al Hilal could ace teams with UEFA Champions League winners.

Al Nassr has Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte, and also Al Ittihad’s squad, which has Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante. Even so, it’s the Serbian duo, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, that have dominated the league.

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The stats Jorge Jesus’ team has put up this year have been clinical. The team has already scored 59 goals in 19 games. Mitrovic is the top scorer with 17 goals, along with other contributors like Brazil’s Malcom and Salem Al Dawsari. Moreover, the defense cannot go unappreciated.

The backline led by Senegalese AFCON-winning captain Kalidou Koulibaly has just conceded nine goals in the league this season and has kept 12 clean sheets in 19. The club also went undefeated in the AFC Champions League, topping the group by scoring 16 goals and conceding just two. Thus making them favorites alongside Al Nassr. And all this has happened with very little influence of Neymar.

All about the $418 million star’s minimal impact on Al Hilal

You may rethink what David Villa said, it will likely seem to be true. Neymar arrived at the club with a preexisting injury to his ankle and did not play the initial month he arrived. Al Hilal managed to never lose a game the whole season except in the Arab Cup.

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And after arriving, Neymar’s priority was playing for Brazil despite not recovering completely, which reportedly surprised the club’s coach, Jorge Jesus. Subsequently, the player, after just five games for the club, was struck with an ACL injury whilst on international duty. The club has reportedly deregistered the veteran from the squad for the season and will hope to see him fit in the next.

What’s your take on Al Hilal not being overreliant on Neymar? Let us know in the comments below.

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