Since beating Al Shabab to go top in Week 8 of the season, Al Hilal has reigned supreme over the Saudi Pro League and on Saturday claimed a record-extending 19th domestic title. There had been a creeping sense of inevitability for some time that Hilal would emerge as champion; an emphatic 4-1 win against Al Hazm confirmed it.

Hilal has been a ruthless, winning machine in the 2023-24 season - memorably setting a new world record of 34 successive victories in all competitions, 20 of which came in the Saudi Pro League. If Jorge Jesus’ side can avoid defeat in its final three games it has the chance to complete an invincible season, though the first of those is against a wounded Al Nassr team.

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While football fans always love the all-or-nothing drama of a cup win, there is no question that for elite players and managers the greatest satisfaction lies in a league triumph. Football seasons are long and grueling; to emerge as champion at the end requires myriad qualities and heightens the sense of achievement.

Here, Al Arabiya English explores three of the key ingredients for Al Hilal’s title triumph.

Smart signings

High-profile arrivals littered the Saudi Pro League last summer and while Al Hilal certainly played its role in a major shifting of the football sands in the Kingdom with some significant forays into the transfer market, its signings were not just marquee - they have made a genuine difference. One only has to look at Al Ittihad’s timid defence of its Saudi Pro League title to see that importing star names isn’t always a recipe for success.

Jesus, however, has shown the touch of a master tactician to ensure that Hilal’s new arrivals instantly gelled into an imperious unit. Between the posts, Morocco goalkeeper Bono has been a model of consistency who has been helped by the imposing presence of Senegal centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, ably marshaling the defence in front of him.

The midfield pairing of Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been magnificent, contributing 11 and 12 assists respectively. Neves is a midfield metronome who makes the team tick, progressing the ball efficiently but also producing moments of magic - from pinpoint set-piece deliveries to creative through-balls. Milinkovic-Savic, meanwhile, is the league’s breakout player this year, with his box-to-box performances, unending workrate and 11 goals from midfield earning acclaim from media and fans alike.

In attack, Aleksandar Mitrovic has been a fine figurehead for the team. The burly forward has been an absolute menace to opposition defences this season and in normal circumstances his 26 goals so far would be enough to claim the Saudi Pro League's Golden Boot. It is a higher total than each of the past three winners - Abderrazak Hamdallah, Odion Ighalo and Bafetimbi Gomis; only the irrepressible Cristiano Ronaldo has denied Mitrovic the division’s top scorer status.

While the new signings have slotted in seamlessly, Jesus has importantly also been able to rely on Saudi stalwarts like Ali Al Bulayhi, the perfect defensive ally of Koulibaly, and Saud Abdulhamid, whose impressive ability to impact both attack and defence has made him a major asset. The two defenders have been ever-present for Hilal, Abdulhamid and Al Bulayhi playing 48 and 46 games across all competitions respectively.

Meanwhile, captain Salem Al Dawsari has had another excellent season - scoring 13 and assisting five - while midfielder Mohammed Kanno has stepped in at regular intervals to always perform admirably and striker Saleh Al-Shehri has successfully deputised for Mitrovic when required.

Indomitable spirit

The true test of a champion team is how it overcomes adversity and Al Hilal has certainly not had things all its own way this season. Jesus’ players have come from behind six times, to earn five wins and a draw. Al Ittihad (twice), Al Fateh, Al Riyadh and Al Shabab have all led Hilal but were ultimately conquered, while Al Fayha held on for a draw in August.

In both home and away fixtures against old rivals Al Ittihad, Hilal has been required to dig deep - going behind to an N’Golo Kante goal in Riyadh before coming back to win 3-1. Arguably the key moment in the season, however, was the first contest in Jeddah in September. Ittihad led 3-1 at half-time but a second-half double from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Salem Al-Dawsari strike secured a dramatic 4-3 wiin for Hilal. In hindsight it was a match that represented the passing of the torch from the 2022-23 champion to this season’s victor.

It was in March when Hilal most clearly demonstrated its indomitable spirit. At a time when continental commitments led to a stacked fixtures list, Hilal was in a losing position in three of its four games - only to turn each of the matches on its head and come away with 12 points from 12 in the month.

Hilal’s season has also been punctuated by late goals - another sign that this is a team that keeps going right until the end. That more than a quarter of its league goals this season have come after the 80th minute - 26 of 95 - is remarkable, and a testament to the players’ persistence. On some occasions, these goals have simply been turning the screw in games already won, but others have been crucial interventions. Hilal beat Al Ahli 2-1 last week with an 89th-minute Malcom goal, while Michael snatched a stoppage-time winner against Damac. Earlier this season, both Al Fayha and Al Taawoun were undone by late strikes too.

A worthy challenger

To say that Al Nassr has played second fiddle to Al Hilal this season would be to underestimate just how well Luis Castro’s team has played. That an unbeaten side had to wait until three games before the campaign’s end to be crowned champion is testament to Nassr’s role as challenger - pushing Hilal all the way.

It is the Saudi Pro League’s first 18-team season after the move from 16 clubs, but Nassr’s 30-game points total of 74 would have been enough to win the title in each of the past five seasons. Now on 77, after a 3-2 win against Al Akdhoud - Nassr has forced Hilal to produce the league’s highest ever points total to claim the championship.

The two Riyadh clubs have gone toe-to-toe all season but ultimately the difference was that while Al Hilal suffered no losses, Al Nassr has four to its name. The most damaging of these was Hilal’s 3-0 Riyadh derby win in December as Jesus’ side took firm control of the title race in front of 55,000 fans in the Saudi capital, and never looked back.

Football’s best sides are often inspired to greatness by the quality of their opposition, demonstrated by several decades of Barcelona and Real Madrid’s rivalry, the battles between Manchester United and Arsenal in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City side - regularly pushed to the end by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

Nassr has played that role this season and though it fell short - meaning it will face the slight ignominy of welcoming Hilal to Al Awwal Park this Friday night as champions - the sides of Castro and Jesus have become standard bearers for an exciting new era in Saudi football.

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