Pioli's impact at Al Nassr has been undeniable - now how far can they go?

Making a coaching change early in a season is usually a sign that things aren’t going well, which itself is an extremely subjective measure based on the club in question.

For a team like Al Nassr, where even one or two defeats can be considered a mini crisis, starting the 2024-25 Roshn Saudi League with only one win in their first three, and two in their first six across all competitions, tantamount to a full-blown disaster.

That is especially the case when the team they are trying to catch - crosstown rivals Al Hilal - began the season with absolute perfection across the same period, creating a points gap between the two almost immediately.

So, as it was, manager Luis Castro was shown the exit door in September and Italian Stefano Pioli was bought in to steer the Al Nassr ship back on course. Two months in and the decision has been more than justified. The third-placed Riyadh club have turned around their form and once again look like a side that can pose a sustained challenge for the RSL title.

To do that, they’ll need Al Hilal to drop points so they can make up the six-point gap that exists at present, most of which was accrued during Al Nassr’s early season wobble.

In a sign of how much they’ve improved since former AC Milan and Inter Milan manager Pioli arrived in Saudi Arabia, Al Nassr are the only team to take points off Al Hilal this campaign, drawing 1-1 in a thrilling encounter in Derby Week at the start of the month.

On another day, without a succession of goals chalked off for tight offsides, the hosts at Al Awwal Park could easily have taken all three points. In a city that’s seen its fair share of heavyweight bouts, admittedly it wasn’t quite a knockout blow Al Nassr craved. However, they did land a few body shots for Al Hilal to realise they won’t have this season all their own way.

So, what has Pioli done to reignite the team? While the overarching formation hasn’t significantly changed between Castro and himself, with the latter still adopting a preferred 4-2-3-1, there have been subtle changes to tactics. And that has had the desired effect.

Taking Al Nassr’s most recent 1-0 win against Al Riyadh just before the international break, when in attack their formation - according to Opta - more closely resembled a 2-4-4, with the full-backs pushing forward to effectively become wingers. In turn, the wingers invert and play off Cristiano Ronaldo and Anderson Talisca up front. That set-up leaves Otavio and Marcelo Brozovic to dominate and dictate the tempo in midfield.

There’s also been personnel changes which, timing-wise, have given Pioli additional weapons to call upon. One of those was the arrival of defender Mohamed Simakan at the end of the transfer window. Yet, while he was able to feature only once in the RSL for Castro, the Frenchman has flourished with Pioli at the helm. His partnership with Spaniard Aymeric Laporte is thriving.

Despite missing the opening two games of the season, Simakan is already clearly ranked No.1 at Al Nassr for clearances and has played a key part in Pioli’s side keeping four clean sheets in their past seven league matches. The 3-3 draw with Al Kholood in Matchweek 8 represents the only real blip on their radar.

Further up the pitch, the attacking quartet of Ronaldo, Talisca, Sadio Mane and Otavio has remained largely unchanged, but Pioli hasn’t been afraid to mix up his forward set if required.

Brazilian duo Wesley and Angelo Gabriel, both aged 19, have impressed in their few appearances in yellow since also arriving late in the transfer window, with the pair playing an important role in last month’s thumping 5-1 win over defending Asian champions Al Ain in the AFC Champions League Elite.

While their match minutes have been more limited domestically, Wesley and Gabriel are still contributing from off the bench and, and by taking some of the burden in the cup competitions, they are ensuring Pioli is able to rotate his squad to compete across multiple competitions without the risk of burnout to his key stars.

What's more, the two Brazilians bring a facet that was sorely missing from the Al Nassr attack before their acquisition: blistering pace. It provides Pioli with another dimension as Al Nassr surge forward in search of goals.

Elsewhere, and while Ronaldo has been quieter than in seasons past, he still leads the way at the club in the RSL, with six goals and two assists. Again, the Al Nassr captain has formed a lethal combination with Talisca, who has six goals of his own - a welcome return after he was sidelined through injury for the second half of last season.

With Mane chipping in, too, with three goals and five assists, it creates an incredibly potent sharp edge to one of only two unbeaten teams in the top flight thus far this term.

Of course, making a coaching change so early in the season wasn’t ideal, but with the turnaround since the vastly experienced Pioli was installed, Al Nassr been more than justified in doing so. The question now is, and beginning with Friday’s huge Matchweek 11 encounter at home to fifth-placed Al Qadsiah, how far can Pioli's inspired side go?