RIYADH: On a night primed to celebrate the new attacking trio Al-Hilal built over the summer, few — if any — expected Neom to emerge victorious on matchday 6 of the 2026/27 Saudi Pro League.

Since Al-Hilal’s loss to Fluminense at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup — their only defeat in regular time under Simone Inzaghi before Monday — they had gone 39 games unbeaten in the league and 54 in all competitions. The unbeaten league run actually stretched back to November 2024 — a total of 47 games — four short of Al-Ahli’s historic record of 51 consecutive league matches without defeat.

The reality was that Al-Hilal were no match for Neom, even at home. Christophe Galtier’s side lined up in a 5-4-1, designed to nullify the threat of Summerville and Martinelli on the flanks, and it was executed to near perfection.

The debate over who should play at left wing surfaced as soon as the lineups came out, with many expecting Martinelli to eventually move into that position as Summerville had excelled on the right wing for the Netherlands at the World Cup. However, aside from a short-lived spell in the first half where Inzaghi instructed the two to switch, Summerville remained on the left flank while Martinelli played on the right.

This changed in the second half, when Sultan Mandash was brought on for Hassan Al-Tambakti to push Martinelli into a free-roaming role just behind Ollie Watkins.

It was in the first half that Neom laid the foundations. In the 16th minute, a corner into the box sparked a scramble before Muhannad Al-Saad beat Martinelli to the ball to dink it toward goal, where Kalidou Koulibaly inadvertently directed the ball past Mohammed Al-Owais and into his own net. Al-Owais had only been named in the XI shortly before the match after Yassine Bounou felt pain in his hamstring.

Corners provided Neom’s route to the second as well. Shortly before half-time, Khalil Al-Absi’s corner was headed away toward the far post, falling to Alexandre Lacazette, whose header rattled the crossbar. With multiple Al-Hilal players watching the ball, Amadou Kone stretched across to strike his effort under Al-Owais to make it 2-0.

The Mandash introduction in the second half came as no surprise — though not as a direct replacement for any of the attackers. With Nasser Al-Dawsari coming on for Moteb Al-Harbi, Al-Hilal shifted to include Ruben Neves in the left center-back position, Al-Dawsari at left-back, and Mohamed Kanno and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the double pivot.

Al-Hilal did begin to threaten more with Mandash, but breaking down Neom’s back five proved difficult — and when they did find a way through, Marcin Bulka stood firm as the last line of defense.

His most important saves came around the hour mark. In the 57th minute, Kanno received the ball just outside the six-yard box with a clear sight of goal, but his shot was palmed away brilliantly by Bulka. In the 66th minute, Watkins had his chance, heading from a Milinkovic-Savic cross toward the Polish goalkeeper, who produced a fine save before using his full body to block the rebound.

Mohamed Kader Meite came on for Kanno in the 74th minute, tasked with adding a greater aerial threat as Al-Hilal increased their delivery of crosses. The Ivorian could not find a shot on target, only testing once in added time when he hit the post, as Neom held on for a historic first victory against Al-Hilal.

The defeat opens the door for Al-Nassr to return to the top alongside their local rivals, with a home fixture against Abha — still winless this season — on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Al-Khaleej hosted Al-Riyadh at the Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, with the two sides unable to separate themselves in a goalless draw. Al-Khaleej remain without a victory under Jose Gomes.

SPL action returns on Tuesday with four fixtures. At 6:30 p.m., Al-Ettifaq host Al-Faisaly, followed by a Qassim derby between Al-Hazem and Al-Taawoun at 6:55 p.m. Al-Ittihad look to follow up their victory against Al-Nassr in a match against Al-Fayha at 9 p.m., which kicks off alongside the week’s headline fixture between Al-Qadsiah and Al-Ahli.