Al Hilal stars Neymar and Salem Al Dawsari stole the show on Monday night as the Saudi powerhouses edged out defending AFC Champions League Elite winners Al Ain FC 5-4 at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in the United Arab Emirates.
The match between two of West Asia’s finest sides had everything a neutral could’ve asked – nine goals, two hat-tricks from the ever-prolific Al Dawsari and Soufiane Rahimi, a sending-off for Al Hilal’s serial instigator Ali Al Bulayhi, and the return of Neymar from his lengthy spell in the sidelines after suffering a serious knee ligament damage during international duty last year.
Al Hilal opened the scoring in the 26th minute when Aleksandar Mitrovic set up Renan Lodi, whose low strike found the bottom corner. Al Ain quickly responded before halftime, with Rahimi tapping in a cross from Erik Jorgenson after a scramble from a corner.
However, two goals in first-half injury time shifted momentum back in Al Hilal’s favor. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic headed in Joao Cancelo’s cross to restore the lead, and moments later, Al Dawsari extended it further with a precise finish from a tight angle.
The second half saw even more drama, as Mateo Sanabria pulled one back for Al Ain in the 63rd minute, only for Al Dawsari to score his second two minutes later with a looping shot over the goalkeeper. Rahimi, determined to keep his team in the game, struck again in the 67th minute to make it 4-3.
Al Dawsari completed his hat-trick with a powerful long-range strike 15 minutes from time, before two minutes later Neymar made his long-awaited return to the pitch, replacing Nasser Al Dawsari as Al Hilal seek to kill off the game as soon as possible.
Al Hilal’s defense faced more pressure after Al Bulayhi’s red card in the 82nd minute for an intentional handball. Rahimi completed his own hat-trick with a late penalty deep into injury time, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Al Hilal from securing the win.
The victory keeps Al Hilal atop the West Zone’s league phase with nine points from their first three games, while Al Ain struggles with just one point after three matches.