Al‑Hilal 3-1 Al‑Nassr Highlights, Saudi Pro League: Neves Shines As 10-Man Visitors Sink Despite Ronaldo Opener

Hello, football fans! We are ready with our live blog covering the mouthwatering Riyadh Derby clash between Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr at the Kingdom Arena. Stay tuned for pre-match updates and line-ups as they are released.

• Fixture: Al-Hilal vs Al-Nassr, Matchday 15

• Series: Saudi Pro League 2025-26

• Venue: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh

• Date: Monday, January 12, 2026

• Time: 11:00 PM IST

The Saudi Pro League match between Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr will be live-streamed in the Indian subcontinent on the FanCode app and website. However, there will be no television broadcast. In Saudi Arabia and other MENA countries, fans can watch it live on the JACO and Thmanyah platforms.

Both sides are missing players who are away on international duty in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2026. Yassine Bounou and Kalidou Koulibary will be unavailable for Al-Hilal as they are in the Morocco and Senegal squads, respectively. Similarly, Al-Hilal will be without Sadio Mane, who is leading the Senegal attack. Mohamed Simakan and Sami Al-Najed are out with injury issues.

Starting XI: Mohammed Al-Yami; Hassan Al Tambakti, Ruben Neves, Moteb Al-Harbi; Hamad Al Yami, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Theo Hernandez; Malcom, Darwin Nunez, Salem Al-Dawsari (c).

Bench: Ahmed Abu Rasen (gk), Pablo Mari, Ali Lajami, Yusuf Akcicek, Mohamed Kanno, Abdulkarim Darisi, Marcos Leonardo, Sultan Mandash, Abdullah Al-Hamdan.

Starting XI: Nawaf Al-Aqidi; Nawaf Boushal, Mohamed Simakan, Inigo Martinez, Ayman Yahya; Kingsley Coman, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Marcelo Brozovic, Angelo; Joao Felix; Cristiano Ronaldo (c).

Bench: Mubarak Al-Buainain (gk), Nader Al Sharari, Saad Fahad Al Nasser, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Ali Al-Hassan, Haroune Camara, Wesley, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Mohammed Khalil Marran.

The referee blows his whistle, and Al-Nassr get tonight's Riyadh Derby underway at Kingdom Arena. It's a sold out stadium, with Al-Hilal fans in the away corner tring to make themselves heard as loudly as possible. Stay tuned!

A really attacking start from Al-Hilal. The ball is played to Theo Hernandez on the left, and his attempted cross is blocked behind for an early corner. The ball is floated in by Neves, but Milinkovic-Savic could not keep it in at the far post.

Neves attempted to catch Al-Hilal's high backline sleeping, finding the run of Salem Al-Dawsari with a long ball from his own half. The skipper attempted to lob it over the goalkeeper's head, but only managed to hit the roof of the net. It wouldn't have counted anyway, as the flag goes up for offside.

Much better from Al-Nassr, with the ball finding Coman's darting run into the box. The French winger has a low and ahrd shot towards the far corner, but Al-Yamin makes a fingertip save to push it behind. The referee, however, awards a goal kick.

With 10 minutes plus stoppage time left to play in the first half, there has been a distinct lack of quality in the opposition's final third from both sides. Al-Nassr have a slight advantage in terms of possession (53%), but both Nunez and Ronaldo have been quite anonymous so far for their teams.

Who else but Cristiano Ronaldo to put his side in front right before half-time to shock te league leaders? A lovely all over the top from Coman finds Ronaldo, who gets in front of Neves. The Portuguese guides the bouncing ball goalwards. Al-Yami gets a hand to it, but it goes into the back of the net.

The referee blows his whislte to bring the first half to an end. Ronaldo runs down the tunnel, but it's his goal that has been the difference after an attacking 45 minutes of football.

The referee blows his whistle to get the second half underway. No half-time changes from either side. Jorge Jesus will hope for more of the same from his team, while Inzaghi will ask for improvements from the league leaders.

A decent start to the second half from the visitors. Yahya plays a peach of a delivery into the box, and it finds Coman. The winger attempts to scissor kick it towards goal, but it catches the shine and flies over the bar.

Lifeline for Al-Hilal!! Malcom takes the ball and works his way into the box. He drops his should to take the ball on his left, and Simakan – who played the Brazilian onside – catches him on the legs and immediately points to the spot.

Salem Al-Dawsari steps up to take the penalty. The Al-Hilal skipper makes no mistake from the spot, firing the shot past Al-Aqidi to bring his side level in the Riyadh Derby. Never any doubt from Saudi Arabia's leading attacker.

The drama continues as Al-Aqidi has been sent off!! After the penalty went in, Neves tries to take the ball from the back of the net so that play could resume. The Al-Hilal keeper started a melee with his opponent, earning both yellow cards. VAR asks the referee to take a look at the on-pitch monitor, which shows Al-Aqidi raising his hands and knee at Neves, upgrading the yellow to straight red.

20-year-old Mubarak Al-Buainain comes on for Al-Nassr in what is his senior debut. Angelo is the player sacrificed by Jorge Jesus. What a few moments that has spiced up this Riyadh Derby!

Joao Felix takes a corner that is cleared by the defence, and his second bite of the cherry goes behind for a goal-kick. Simakan, who is making his comeback from injury, goes down with cramp, and Al-Nassr make their first unforced change of the night. The French centre back comes off for Al-Hassan.

Looking to capitalise on their man advantage, Inzaghi makes a double change to shore up their attack. Mohamed Kanno comes on in place of Nasser Al-Dawsari. New signing Pablo Mari makes his Al-Hilal debut, replacing Al-Harbi.

Substitute Mohamed Kanno puts his side ahead!! Al-Nassr fail to clear the danger in their box, and it comes back to Neves. The Portuguese midfielder plays a beautiful ball into the box from the left flank, and it is poked past the young goalkeeper by Kanno.

A big call by Jorge Jesus to bring off Cristiano Ronaldo, who is not happy at having to come off in place of Wesley. Meanwhile, Yahya is replaced by Al-Ghannam.

Right at the closing stages, Al-Hilal are handed a further boost as Salem Al-Dawsari is tripped in the box by Al-Hassan. The substitute defender gets his leg across while sliding in, and the referee immediately points to the spot.

If anyone deserved a goal tonight, it's Neves. The Portuguese midfielder was key in creating the goal that gave Al-Hilal the lead, and he adds a third from the spot with a hard and low shot that sends the goalkeeper the wrong way. Sixth league goal for Neves this season.

After nine minutes of added time, the referee finally blows his whistle to confirm the win for Al-Hilal. The hosts remain unbeaten in the league, and now go seven points clear of the second place. Al-Nassr, meanwhile, have a lot of questions to answer, including the future of Bento, following Al-Aqidi's red card. The season's first Riyadh Derby ends 3-1 in favour of the league leaders.