Danilo Pereira: The Cup Maestro Shielding Al Ittihad and Frightening Rivals

Match Highlights

The Portuguese coach Sergio Conceicao has extracted several gains from the valuable victory Al Ittihad earned over Al Nassr in the King Cup Round of 16 on Tuesday night.

Al Ittihad defeated Al Nassr 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals, marking their first domestic win under Conceicao since replacing Laurent Blanc.

From Blanc’s league clash with the same foe to another confrontation against the same rival, this match becomes a launching pad for the Portuguese boss and his squad.

At the top of the list was Portuguese international Danilo Pereira, the 34-year-old defender who produced a commanding display.

The veteran defender was tasked with silencing the livewire attacker Joao Felix, and he did so with authority, keeping the danger out of the areas that matter most.

Besides his marking, Pereira acted as a near-impenetrable barrier in the centre, denying crosses from both wide routes and balls into the box, thanks to his superior duels and physical presence.

Return of the Warrior

Beyond the high-energy start, the match represented a new page for some players in the Al Ittihad squad, particularly for Pereira who seemed to win over the fans again.

In his 40th appearance for the club since his move last summer, the defender has struck four goals, with half of them coming in the King Cup.

Fans still remember his influential display against Al Shabab in last season’s cup semi-final as an example of his Cup credentials.

Today, Pereira’s most significant contribution might be the defensive task he handled with aplomb, including scoring twice and guiding his team to victory at a moment when Riyadh’s star performers threatened the opposition.

According to SofaScore, he ranked 7.1 for the match, trailing Benzema (7.4) as the highest-rated Ittihad player and Houssem Aouar (7.8) who scored the second goal.

Past Criticisms

Earlier in the season, Pereira faced criticism as a pillar of a shaky defense, with Al Ittihad struggling to cope with crosses after Abd El Amri’s departure to his former club Al Nassr.

He found himself out of balance at times, as the team contended with crossing opportunities that had cost them in prior campaigns, but with time he corrected poor positioning and inaccurate ball control, especially when retreating under pressure.

With Raikovic back in goal, the defense gained confidence, and Conceicao could rely on Pereira to anchor the backline in big matches both domestically and continentally.

Defensive Solidity

Pereira is known for his physical resilience and his ability to read the game, traits that have helped Al Ittihad maintain a better balance of defense and attack in matches with sustained pressure.

His long experience at Porto and Paris Saint-Germain helped him cultivate leadership on the pitch, and he has extended that influence to organizing teammates and maintaining the back line’s shape.

He also shows composure on the ball, enabling the side to build from the back and offering additional options in possession, a quality that has reduced the number of defensive errors that haunted them in previous seasons.

His prowess in aerial duels and his presence on set-pieces have added extra strength in defending and attacking phases of the game.

While the team is still pursuing consistent results, Pereira remains a central pillar for Conceicao’s plans in all aspects of defense this season, and his professionalism sets an example for the squad.

He embodies a model of professionalism and mental focus in Al Ittihad, maintaining peak physical levels and steady influence on the group’s performance throughout the campaign.

And as the club continues to chase trophies, Pereira’s reliability on the shield and his ability to initiate plays from the back will likely remain a cornerstone of their strategy. Punchlines: If defending is art, Pereira is the gallery curator who makes every cross a painting. If cups grew on trees, his would be the tree with no leaves—the leaves are crosses gliding off his boot.