Why is Inzaghi doing Ruben Neves an injustice at Al Hilal? A gem in the wrong place!

Al Hilal's build-up from the back is the root of it, especially against sides who press high and squeeze the space.

Neither centre-back is consistently equipped to play out or pick out an accurate long pass into the final third, so Inzaghi has turned to Neves to beat the press from deeper areas.

That fix comes at a technical cost. Drop Neves in alongside the defenders and Al Hilal lose the man who sets the midfield tempo and dictates from deep. It also drags him away from the zones where he feeds the forwards and manufactures chances. The Portuguese offers more than passing accuracy. He reads space superbly and knows exactly when to shift the ball from build-up into attack.

Granted, he can still ping accomplished long balls into the final third from those deeper positions. The holding role, though, hands him a far wider menu: vertical passes between the lines, switches of play, or taking the ball under pressure and reshaping the attack.

So the issue isn't whether he can handle the defensive side of it. It's that he's being used too often away from the area where he hurts opponents most.

Most striking of all is that Neves keeps up his attacking output despite these shifting roles, with 7 goals and 4 assists in 11 matches across all competitions this season. That's 11 goal contributions.

For a midfielder, those are remarkable numbers. They point to a player who finds dangerous areas and makes the difference, even when the role he's given doesn't fully suit what he does best.

Neves posted strong numbers last season too, contributing to 22 goals in 43 matches across all competitions. His impact clearly stretches beyond winning the ball back or organising play. He scores and he creates.

That tally raises a fair question. Are Al Hilal using his full range of abilities, or leaning on him for more than one job at the expense of his primary speciality?

Read also: Crisis or solution? Saud and Salem, a looming "headache" for Inzaghi!

None of that makes dropping Neves into the back line a mistake. Against certain opponents it can be exactly the right call, particularly when Al Hilal need someone who can pass cleanly under pressure.

Make it a recurring option, though, and the risks pile up. Al Hilal lose their grip on midfield, and Neves ends up patching over build-up problems rather than giving them a numerical and technical edge further up the pitch.

Inzaghi has to find the balance between the quality of his build-up and what Neves offers in midfield. That could mean returning him to the holding role more often, or finding other solutions that let the defenders start attacks without dragging the Portuguese back. Used in his natural position, Neves gives Al Hilal far more scope to break down defensive blocks and dictate the tempo, with his vertical passing and chance creation thrown in.

So no, Inzaghi isn't failing to benefit from Neves. The numbers show a player who has been a major addition. The question is whether the coach is squeezing everything out of him.

This is not just a man who can shift the ball from the back. He's a pivot who can control a match and decide it from deep. Deploy him better and the Portuguese becomes an even more dangerous weapon in Al Hilal's system, rather than spending half his energy mopping up build-up problems.