Al-Hilal manager Jorge Jesus has slammed Uzbek side Navbahor for their antics in the second half of their AFC Champions League meeting.
Navbahor pulled off a surprise result against Al-Hilal on Monday as they held the record Asian champions to a 1-1 draw in their opening game of the competition in Saudi Arabia.
Toma Tabatadze opened the scoring for Navbahor in the second half before Ali Al-Boleahi’s stoppage-time header rescued a point for the hosts.
A lacklustre performance from Al-Hilal saw their attack, led by £77 million signing Neymar, waste a number of clear-cut chances throughout the game.
However, Jorge Jesus shifted the blame towards Navbahor’s antics for running down the clock and halting Al-Hilal’s momentum in the process.
“Navbahor did not come here to play football,” Jesus said in the press conference after the game. “What they tried to do was completely against it.
“There were players time-wasting by falling to the ground a number of times and the referee did not do much to stop them from doing that.
“We only have a point to show for now and it’s certainly not because of their disciplined defensive performance as they claim.
“I have been coaching for 35 years and I have never seen a team waste time like they did. This is not football and I’m not used to playing against teams with such antics,” he added.
Al-Hilal are set to resume their Saudi Pro League title charge with a trip to Khamis Mushait as they face Damac in their upcoming game on Thursday.