Al-Hilal may have an opportunity to secure a world record for the most consecutive wins on Tuesday, but manager Jorge Jesus believes that accolade is of less importance than winning trophies this season.
The Roshn Saudi League leaders equaled the world record by beating Al-Riyadh 3-1 on Friday to claim their 27th consecutive triumph in all competitions in what has been a remarkable campaign. Al-Hilal’s win was achieved after coming from a goal behind to strike through Ruben Neves and Aleksandar Mitrovic penalties, sandwiched by a Michael header, to earn a 12-point lead at the top of the Roshn Saudi League.
The result tied The New Saints’ 27 consecutive victories in the 2016-17 season — an achievement that saw the Welsh club break a 44-year-old record previously held by Dutch giants Ajax between 1971 and 1972.
While welcoming the opportunity to make world history against fellow Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad in their AFC Champions League quarterfinal second leg on Tuesday, Portuguese coach Jesus insists winning silverware trumps claiming records. Al-Hilal go into the tie 2-0 up from the first leg.
Jesus said: “The win record is a secondary plan that has come about. If the record comes about, it is history for the players, the coach and the club. It’s a world record but it’s not a title — titles are the league, the cup and the Asian Champions League. It’s true that the more you win, then the closer you are to achieving your objectives, and we welcome that. (Against Al-Riyadh), we didn’t show a lot of freshness, but we showed sufficiency to achieve the target of winning the game. We are prepared for Ittihad in the Champions League.”
The first leg of the AFC Champions League quarterfinal between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad in Riyadh last week saw a penalty from former Newcastle United and Fulham striker Mitrovic added to by a Salem Al-Dawsari goal. Al-Ittihad will be without the suspended former Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante after he was sent off in the first leg.
Jesus rested summer signings Neves, who arrived from Premier League outfit Wolves, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who joined from Serie A side Lazio, against Al-Riyadh but all but confirmed that the influential midfield duo will start versus Al-Ittihad.
Jesus, a three-time Portuguese league winner with Benfica, said: “Sergej and Ruben are among the players that have played the most minutes this season. I felt that after the last game against Ittihad, they were a little bit tired. I tried to give them a little bit more rest by not starting against Riyadh so that they can be more ready and fresh for the next game against Ittihad.
“They are fundamental players in the team and it’s important that we have them well recovered. It’s also important we can recover Salem (Al-Dawsari) for the next match. Every game, we make three to four changes, and the weekend match was similar. Both Sergej and Reuben have big intensity when they are on the field. Against Al-Riyadh, they were influential when they came on. Like Malcolm and Salem, we always want to keep them at their highest level of freshness.”