Al-Hilal Faces Doubt in Buraidah Amidst Old Curse

Al-Hilal walk into Buraidah on Saturday carrying something they have not felt in years: doubt.

The Saudi giants, beaten for the first time this season with a two-goal loss to Neom on Monday in the sixth round of the Saudi Roshn League, travel to face Al-Taawoun knowing exactly what they are trying to outrun. It is not just a reaction to a bad result. It is the shadow of a pattern they once knew too well.

Five years have passed since Al-Hilal last lost two league matches in a row. The club still treats that spell like a superstition, a “curse” that first struck their neighbours and fierce rivals Al-Nassr, and then crept across Riyadh.

Back then, in December 2021, the champions stumbled. They fell 2-0 to Al-Nassr, then slipped again in the very next round, edged 3-2 by Al-Fateh. Two straight defeats, and a jolt to a club that measures itself by relentless consistency.

Since that sequence, the standard has been ruthless. Whenever Al-Hilal have lost a league game, they have stopped the bleeding immediately. No back-to-back defeats. At worst, a draw in the following match. That resilience has underpinned title charges and kept rivals at arm’s length.

That is what is on the line in Buraidah.

Al-Taawoun’s stadium will host a side still sitting top of the Saudi Roshn League on 15 points, ahead of Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah only on goal difference. The table says Al-Hilal remain in control. The mood says something else: slip again, and the door swings open.

For “The Boss”, this is not just about three points. It is about protecting a five-year record, holding their nerve after Neom snapped their perfect start, and proving that the old curse belongs to the past, not the title race taking shape now.