Agency :
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal handed defending champions Al-Ain a dramatic 5-4 defeat in the Asian Champions League Elite on Monday as Salem Al-Dawsari’s hat-trick in an incident-filled clash overshadowed Neymar’s return to competitive action.
Neymar, who has been sidelined since a cruciate ligament rupture last October, was a 77th minute substitute as the Saudi Pro League side avenged last season’s semi-final loss against Al-Ain despite playing the closing stages with 10 men.
The win keeps Al-Hilal on top of the league standings in west Asia after three rounds with nine points, where they are joined by fellow Saudi side Al-Ahli after their 2-1 win over Qatar’s Al-Rayyan.
Gabri Veiga scored direct from a corner to give Al-Ahli a 16th minute lead before Feras Al-Brikan headed in his side’s second seven minutes from the break, although Fahad Al-Hamad’s own goal left his side clinging on for the final 25 minutes.
Qatar’s Al-Sadd picked up their second win of the campaign to move onto seven points as Matheus Uribe’s first half goal downed Persepolis of Iran while Al-Shorta from Iraq and Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan played out a 0-0 draw.
Al-Hilal’s third consecutive win in the competition came as Jorge Jesus’ side edged their hosts in a nine-goal thriller at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in which both Al-Dawsari and Al-Ain’s Soufiane Rahimi scored hat-tricks.