Al-Hilal Faces Old Curse in Buraidah Showdown
Al-Hilal head to Buraidah on Saturday with more than three points on the line. They travel with a superstition hanging over them, a “curse” that has stayed away for five years but suddenly feels close again.
The league leaders face Al-Taawoun in the seventh round of the Saudi Roshn League, days after their first stumble of the season — a 2-0 defeat to Neom on Monday in the sixth round. One loss is a setback. Two in a row, for Al-Hilal, is something far more ominous.
They know that feeling too well.
The Last Time the Curse Struck
The last time Al-Hilal lost back-to-back league matches, the damage came from the most painful of sources: their neighbours and great rivals Al-Nassr.
In December 2021, the capital club fell 2-0 to Al-Nassr. The blow landed hard. The response never came. In the very next round, Al-Fateh edged them 3-2, and suddenly the giants of Riyadh looked human, fragile, exposed.
Since that double hit, Al-Hilal have refused to let the same pattern repeat. Whenever they’ve slipped in the league, they’ve steadied themselves immediately. The worst that followed a defeat was a draw. Never again two straight losses. Not in the Saudi Roshn League. Not for almost five years.
That record is now under threat.
Top of the Table, but Under Pressure
On paper, Al-Hilal travel in control of the title race. They sit top of the Saudi Roshn League on 15 points, ahead of Al-Nassr and Al-Qadsiah only on goal difference, with both rivals right behind them in second and third.
The table flatters and warns at the same time. One more wrong step, and that narrow lead can vanish in a single weekend.
Al-Taawoun, playing at home in Buraidah, know exactly what kind of opponent is coming: wounded, proud, and desperate to avoid a crisis headline. For “The Boss”, this is not just another away fixture. It is a test of their ability to react, to shut the door on doubt before it creeps into the dressing room.
Lose again, and the talk of a curse will grow louder. Avoid defeat, and the story becomes something else entirely — that even when they fall, Al-Hilal still know how to stand back up faster than anyone around them.
