Damac’s Coach Admits Over-Respect: Al Hilal Hit the Right Chord in Riyadh
4 January 2026
Match context and result
The Portuguese coach Armando Evangelista, head coach of Damac, said his side respected Al Hilal too much during their Roshn Saudi League clash.
Al Hilal beat Damac 2-0 on Sunday, at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium, in the 13th round of the league.
Coach's remarks
In the post-match press conference, Evangelista said: "We knew the match would be difficult and the gap between the teams, yet we managed to neutralize Al Hilal for periods, and we performed reasonably well; we weren't bad".
He added, via statements reported by Al-Riyadhia: "We played with solid organization up to a lapse in concentration, and we paid the price for that inside the match after conceding the first goal".
He concluded: "Perhaps we respected Al Hilal more than necessary, and that affected our overall display, and honestly the atmosphere felt closer to being away from our home because of the large Al Hilal crowd".
The victory put Al Hilal top of the Saudi Pro League for the first time this season, lifting their tally to 32 points, one ahead of Al Nassr in second place.
Punchline 1: If over-respecting were a sport, Damac would win the world championship.
Punchline 2: Next time, bring a ruler to measure how big the gap is — one meter of respect, zero meters of goals.
