Extremes of humiliation and pressure have forced holders Al Hilal into a dramatic change ahead of Monday’s, potentially, Saudi Professional League-defining clash with King’s Cup destroyers Al Taawoun.

Friday’s 5-0 semi-final defeat – a record loss in the Crescent’s modern history – against the same opponent saw embattled coach Zoran Mamic dismissed after less than three months in charge.

Al Faisaly’s Pericles Chamusca immediately got the call to finish off an unwinding season, beginning with a critical game in hand. With a spot in the 2020 AFC Champions League on the line for Taawoun, here are the talking points:

HILAL’S NEW HOPE

It was a night that will live in infamy.

An admittedly depleted and fatigued Hilal, shorn of some key players such as ex-France striker Bafetimbi Gomis, were swatted aside by opponents who, also, clearly had one eye on Monday’s fixture.

Mitigation by the fact this was an eight match out of nine in April was not enough to save Mamic.

 

Loanee Chamusca offers a required switch in direction and emphasis. The well-travelled Brazilian has moved Faisaly from 11th upon arrival in October to sixth.

Influential Saudi Arabia midfielder Abdullah Otayf’s return from injury was also the only positive from the Taawoun humiliation.

 

TAAWOUN’S TIME

This is not an exclusively must-win fixture for Hilal.

Taawoun have generated momentum after losing just once in their last 12 games. Win at King Saud University Stadium, it would be a ninth in this run, and they’ll be just one point behind third-placed Al Shabab in the Asian race.

Taawoun held plenty in reserve when they trashed Hilal. They could lay waste to their ambitions for a second time in 72 hours.