Al Hilal emerged victorious from a thrilling encounter with Al Ain at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Monday, securing a 5-4 win in their AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25 clash.
Salem Al Dawsari stole the show with a remarkable hat trick, but the match also marked the long-awaited return of Neymar Jr. to competitive football.
The Brazilian superstar, sidelined for a year due to injury, made his comeback in the 77th minute, replacing Nasser Al-Dawsari. This highly anticipated appearance added another layer of excitement to an already action-packed game.
Al Hilal took the lead in the 26th minute through a low strike from Renan Lodi, assisted by Aleksandar Mitrovic. Al Ain responded in the 39th minute when Soufiane Rahimi capitalized on a defensive error to level the scores.
The match swung in Al Hilal’s favor just before half-time. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic headed in a Joao Cancelo cross, and Al Dawsari then found the net from a tight angle to give the visitors a 3-1 lead at the break.
Mateo Sanabria pulled one back for Al Ain in the 63rd minute, but Al Dawsari quickly restored the two-goal cushion with a looping shot over goalkeeper Eisa.
Rahimi scored his second of the match in the 67th minute to keep Al Ain in contention, but Al Dawsari completed his hat trick with a thunderous strike from outside the area in the 75th minute.
Shortly after Neymar’s introduction, Ali Al Bulayhi was shown a red card in the 82nd minute, reducing Al Hilal to 10 men. Rahimi completed his own hat trick with a penalty in injury time after being fouled by Khalifa Al Dawsari, but Al Hilal held on for the win.
This victory avenges Al Hilal’s semi-final loss to Al Ain last season and keeps them atop the league standings with nine points from their opening games. Al Ain, meanwhile, remain on just one point after losing two of their first three matches.
Discover more from
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.