Brazilian star Neymar returns from year-long exile in Al Hilal's thrilling 3-1 win against Al Ain
Brazilian forward Neymar marked his first football in over a year with a 5-4 win for Al Hilal over Al Ain in the Asian Champions Elite tournament. The Group B encounter at the packed Hazzan Bin Zayed Stadium marked the return of Neymar to action after a long recovery process from the severe meniscus and ACL injury he suffered in October last year during international duty.
So, they started slowly but with a win
Al Hilal were winning by 5-3 at the clock break in the Saudi Pro League. However, at the 76th minute, they were still in the lead 5-3. Till this time, both Renan Lodi as well as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic had scored a goal. The fanciful hat-trick was also by Salem Al Dawsari.
Though he can join the Saudi Pro League only in January, Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus said it was up to Neymar to regain his fitness through competitive games and get back into top form. "Playing games is the only way to bring Neymar back to his best," the Portuguese manager stated.
Goals Galore Before Neymar's Introduction
Al Hilal took early control, as Aleksandar Mitrovic assisted Renan Lodi to convert in the 26th minute. Soufiane Rahimi, who so far has proven indispensable for their Asian Champions League-winning campaign last season, equalized the affair six minutes before halftime for Al Ain.
This was really action that picked its intensity during the stoppage time of the half when João Cancelo delivered a cross for Milinkovic-Savic thundering at the back of the net with his header, then moments after by Al Dawsari's brilliant solo run and finish, giving Al Hilal all three points going into the break.
A See-Saw Second Half
Al Ain staged a fightback at the break, but Mateo Sanabria's arrival did spark a response for them in decreasing the deficit only for Al Dawsari again to make it 4-3 to Al Hilal. Within minutes, Rahimi leveled his second of the night, but Al Dawsari finished off a treble with a classy effort from range which made it 5-3.
In the last minutes, when Hilal defender Ali Al Bulaihi was red-carded for handball, Rahimi clinched his hat-trick of the game with the penalty, but Al Hilal saw the match through to a 5-4 win.
Neymar's Low Impact
A rather short visit for Neymar today, that did not present him with much scope to influence the match, but looking not to let things slip his mind, almost won it in the last minute with a shot across the face of the goal.
With the arrival of Neymar, a road to his perfect comeback has finally begun, but the sky-high expectations that, once again, he will be among the best footballers.
For Al Hilal, it's now three points out of three, and they lead the group, as Al Ain had remained with just one point.
With inputs from agencies
Image Source: Multiple agencies
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