Friends at AC Milan, Adli and Hernandez now RSL foes at Riyadh rivals | OneFootball

If Marcelo Grohe finds himself staring down Theo Hernandez from the penalty spot this weekend, he might be best served to ignore any friendly advice from Yacine Adli as to which way to go.

If anyone is to know which side French international Hernandez might choose, it should be Adli, who shared a dressing room with the 28-year-old full-back in Milan for two seasons.

But history suggests the former France youth international might not be the best judge. Last season, when Hernandez was at AC Milan and Adli was on loan at Fiorentina, that exact circumstance eventuated.

As Hernandez prepared to take his penalty, Adil could be seen gesturing which way to dive to Fiorentina’s No.1, David De Gea. Luckily for the former Manchester United shot-stopper, he chose to ignore his teammate, went the other way, and saved Hernandez’s spot-kick.

The two Frenchman will meet again on Friday night, in the theatre of a Roshn Saudi League Riyadh derby, when Al Shabab make the short trip across the Saudi capital to Kingdom Arena for what feels a must-win game for Imanol Alguacil’s visitors.

While the former AC Milan teammates will no doubt share a convivial catch-up when they cross paths before and after the plum Matchweek 7 encounter, there will be nothing friendly about the 90 minutes on the pitch.

While Al Hilal versus Al Nassr might take the spotlight as the ultimate Riyadh Derby, the heat between Al Hilal and Al Shabab remains as intense as ever.

And, for Al Shabab, even at this early stage of the 2025-26 campaign, the stakes are incredibly high. With a single win from their opening six RSL matches, and now four games without victory across all competitions, the sense is that the three points are a must to truly kick their season into gear.

But, against an Al Hilal side that are beginning to click with their own new manager, Simone Inzaghi? Well, that is easier said than done - as Al Shabab know only too well.

Only once in the past decade have they managed to get the better of their crosstown rivals in the RSL, that coming at the end of the 2022-23 season when they triumphed 3-0 at home. But despite being only two-and-a-half years ago, that match will offer little in the way of hope for Alguacil and his embattled team.

Such has been the change in the RSL since, none of the starting XI for Al Shabab remain at the club, while only one at Al Hilal - Mohammed Kanno - still represents the blue side of the capital. It’s a significant amount of change in a relatively short period of time, but change is what Al Shabab have known in recent years.

Remarkably, Alguacil is their seventh manager since that last win against Al Hilal. Meanwhile, the significant overhaul of the squad has continued, including ahead of this season when so much of Al Shabab’s transfer work was done late in the window. What’s more, on the eve of the new campaign.

That comprised the arrival of Adli, as well as former Burnley captain Josh Brownhill, Swiss midfielder Vincent Sierro, former RSL Golden Glove winner Grohe, and Spanish starlet Unai Hernandez, who joined on loan from champions Al Ittihad.

Then, going out the door was the league’s best young talent in Musab Al Juwayr, so influential on loan last season from Al Hilal that he was named the 2024-25 RSL's Best Young Player. The 22-year-old playmaker now plies his trade at Al Qadsiah.

With a new manager at Al Shabab giving out instructions, there’s probably little surprise it has taken a while for things to gel, as this version of the team were thrust into action with next-to-no time on the training pitch to prepare and embed the fresh tactical direction.

But two months and six games into the season, the time for falling back on that argument is fast running out. Sitting 13th in the table is well below expectation for a club with the stature of Al Shabab.

Thus, what they need more than anything right now is a win, especially against their great Riyadh rivals, to drive some energy back into their campaign.

No doubt, Adli can play a pivotal part in that, given both his skillset and his familiarity with Hernandez. Just, perhaps not, should his ex-colleague step up for a penalty.