Brazilian superstar Neymar made his long-awaited return to action on Monday, appearing as a second-half substitute for Al Hilal in their dramatic 5-4 victory against Asian champions Al Ain in the UAE. This marked Neymar’s first game since suffering a severe knee injury while on international duty in October of last year.
The 32-year-old, who had undergone surgery and extensive rehabilitation, is Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 79 goals in 128 appearances. He was named on the bench for the first time since his injury and came on in the 76th minute at the Hazzan Bin Zayed Stadium.
By the time Neymar entered the match, Al Hilal was leading 5-3, with contributions from Renan Lodi, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and a hat-trick from Salem Al Dawsari. However, he cannot officially play in the Saudi Pro League until January.
Al Hilal opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Aleksandar Mitrovic set up Lodi, who scored with a low shot. Al Ain equalized shortly before halftime through Soufiane Rahimi, a standout player from their Asian Champions League triumph last season.
The match turned in Al Hilal’s favor just before halftime, with Milinkovic-Savic heading in from a Joao Cancelo cross, followed by a stunning individual goal from Al Dawsari.
Al Ain fought back, with Mateo Sanabria scoring shortly after the hour mark, but Al Dawsari quickly restored the two-goal lead. The back-and-forth continued as Rahimi scored again for Al Ain, but Al Dawsari answered with another brilliant strike.
As the match entered injury time, Al Hilal was reduced to 10 men after Ali Al Bulaihi’s red card for a handball. Rahimi then converted a penalty to complete his hat-trick, giving Al Ain a glimmer of hope. However, Al Hilal held on for the thrilling victory.
Neymar had limited opportunities to make an impact but did manage to send a shot wide in the closing moments of the game.