Al-Hilal manager Jorge Jesus believes new signing Aleksandar Mitrovic will play a vital role for the Blues this season.
Mitrovic had joined Al-Hilal on a permanent deal from Fulham for a reported fee of £46 million, signing a contract until the summer of 2026.
The Serbian goal machine made the starting lineup for Al-Hilal during the week as the record Asian champions cruised past Al-Raed with a 4-0 victory in the Saudi Pro League’s third round.
It only took 42 minutes for the 28-year-old to open his scoring account in Saudi Arabia with a trademark header to give Al-Hilal the lead before half-time.
Despite going down to ten men in the second half after Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was sent off, Al-Hilal still managed to get a dominant result away from home through a Salem Al-brace from Salem Al-Dawsari and a late goal from Abdullah Al-Hamdan.
Speaking after the game, Jorge Jesus expressed his delight with the performance and also talked about the importance of having a centre-forward like Mitrovic in his squad.
“We played a really good game both offensively and defensively,” Jesus told reporters after the game.
“The first goal came after the opposition’s concentration levels dropped, leaving gaps behind, unlike the start of the game, where they were organised and stayed compact.
“You can see how Mitrovic helped us offensively today, and in the second half he started to get physically tired but that is normal because he joined the team only days ago,” he added.
Mitrovic also reflected on his debut, saying: “I am happy to be here. You can feel the passion of the attending fans.
“It’s true that I didn’t have much time to train before the game. It can also take a while to get along with my teammates on the pitch but I am more than ready for the upcoming games.”