Al-Hilal coach Simone Inzaghi explained the reason behind Brazilian star Martinelli's early substitution.

Al-Hilal won away against Al-Taawoun on Saturday. In the match, Martinelli delivered an outstanding performance, scoring a hat-trick in his first appearance for Al-Hilal. Inzaghi substituted him in the 54th minute.

Regarding the substitution, Inzaghi said at the post-match press conference: "Martinelli arrived late and only participated in one training session before our match against Neom SC. He is a top-level player, and we substituted him today to protect him."

Speaking about the match, he added: "We played an excellent game with high concentration and intensity. We have another task ahead in the Asian competition, and it's good to be in first place before the break."

He concluded: "We used the same lineup as against Neom SC, but we had a longer rest period this time, which allowed us to prepare better for this match."

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