Neymar Returns For Al Hilal In Al Ain Thriller

Neymar Makes Return to Al Hilal in Thriller Set in Al AinAfter a more than year-long absence, Brazilian superstar Neymar made his competitive comeback on Monday, coming off the bench to help Al Hilal to a nail-biting 5-4 victory against Asian champions Al Ain in the UAAgence Cup. 
 
Al Hilal's thrilling 5-4 victory against Asian champions Al Ain in the UAE on Monday marked Brazil superstar Neymar's return to play after more than a year off. Neymar came on as a substitute in the second half. The 32-year-old forward, who has previously played for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, missed October of last year's international season due to a meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee. After a long recovery and surgery, Neymar is back on top of the scoring charts for his nation. He has 79 goals in 128 games for his national team.
 
In a packed Hazzan Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, he debuted his Hilal bench after an injury-plagued return in the 76th minute of the Asian Champions Elite match. 
 
Renan Lodi, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and Salem Al Dawsari had put the record-setting four-time Asian champions—current leaders of the Saudi Pro League—up 3-0 at that point.
 
The Saudi Premier League registration deadline for Neymar is January.
 
"I need to prepare Neymar with games; that's the only possible means to bring him to his level, which was the idea today," Jorge Jesus, the Hilal coach, stated.
 
"There are some risks for the team because we need to use the games to prepare him, but it's the only way to have one of our important players back at the highest level," the manager from Portugal said.
 
Lodi, a former Atletico Madrid full-back, scored Hilal's first goal on Monday in the 26th minute after receiving the ball from Fulham and Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, who had previously played for Newcastle and Atletico Madrid. Al Ain's goalkeeper, Khalid Essa, made a diving save.
 
Soufiane Rahimi, a Moroccan international, leveled the score six minutes before halftime thanks to a cross from Hernan Crespo's team. 
 
When Al Ain won the Asian Champions League last year, Rahimi was the main reason. He was the team's leading scorer and the tournament's most valuable player.
 
Hilal put their UAE opponents out of the game in the first half's stoppage time. 
 
The first was a cross from Manchester City's summer acquisition Joao Cancelo, which allowed Milinkovic-Savic to return home unmarked after six years. Just a few moments after that, Al Dawsari—the current Asian Player of the Year—sprinted past the Al Ain defense, dribbled past the charging Essa, and curled a fantastic shot on the angle to score.
 
After the first half, Al Ain's replacement Mateo Sanabria cut the lead in half, but Al Dawsari scored his second goal after a cross by Milinkovic-Savic. 
 
A few minutes after that, Rahimi scored twice as the tension in the match continued to fluctuate. After that, Hilal's two-goal lead was restored by Al Dawsari's magnificent long-range shot.
 
Just twelve minutes into the extra time, with Hilal down to ten players due to defender Ali Al Bulaihi's red card for deliberate handball, Rahimi earned a penalty, which he scored to complete his hat trick and provide Al Ain a chance to win. Still, the Saudi champions held on for the victory.
 
Despite a sloppy effort in stoppage time, Neymar hardly could affect the game. 
 
With a perfect record of three wins, Hilal leads the Western region group, one point ahead of Al Ain.

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