Al-Hilal have mocked Al-Nassr through a social media post after claiming a 3-1 win in Monday's derby.
Big loss for Al-Nassr against Al-Hilal
The Knights of Najd saw their title hopes take another major hit as they further lost ground to Al-Hilal in the league race. Just days after a surprising home defeat against Al Qadsiah, Jorge Jesus' men faced the Blues Waves in a top-of-the-table game.
Al-Nassr were the favorites during the first half and took the lead through Cristiano Ronaldo three minutes shy of the break. However, they imploded in the second half, which began after Mohamed Simakan clumsily brought down Malcolm in the area. Salem Al Dawasari assumed responsibility and converted the resulting penalty in the 57th minute to bring Al-Hilal level.
Just three minutes later, Al-Nassr were reduced to 10 men after goalkeeper Nawaf Al Aqidi was shown a straight red for fighting an opponent. The numerical disadvantage shifted the tide in Al-Hilal's favor as Mohamed Kanno turned the game on its head with nine minutes to go.
Hopes for a comeback were thrashed in the second minute of stoppage time when Ruben Neves struck a third from the spot after Al Dawasari was brought down in the Al-Nassr area.
Al-Hilal mocked Al-Nassr on social media
Soon after the game, Al-Hilal mocked their rivals, sharing a breaking news-style video across their social media handles about the clash. It was said in the clip:
“Non-breaking news! The sun rose today and set. The airplane arrives safely at its destination. Al-Hilal defeated Al-Nassr.”
Slump in Al-Nassr's form
The Knights of Najd were at the top of the Saudi Pro League standings until the end of 2025 after winning all 10 of their first league games of the campaign. However, they have gone on a downward spiral since the turn of the year, having failed to win any of their last four matches, losing their last three.
Jorge Jesus justifies reason for Al-Nassr loss in Riyadh derby
Al-Nassr boss Jorge Jesus said that his team lost in the Riyadh derby because Al-Hilal are a much experienced team and accused his players of losing control. He said post-match:
“It's true that Al-Hilal’s team is much more experienced,” Jesus explained. “They know how to play in these moments of the game. I should know, right? This team worked with me for almost two years. I put it together, so I know them perfectly. They are players who are used to winning everything and don't lose control emotionally.
“Al Nassr’s players lose control and today was proof of that. We were always ahead in the first 10 games, with 10 wins. When the team started having problems, with [Sadio] Mane [at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations], and Simakan injured, we started to lose value and then some mistakes started to appear - like today's. And we can't make them.
“If [the players] fail technically, you have to understand, but now failing disciplinarily, after a penalty, creating a situation like this? It was already not positive to have conceded the penalty, let alone the team losing control and giving the referee reasons to send [Al Aqidi] off.”
The result means Al-Nassr are now seven points behind Al-Hilal.