The focus was solely on Neymar. The day of the Brazilian star’s debut at Al Hilal had arrived. Friday September 15, 2023 will be remembered by the supporters of the Arab team. The “10” came into the game in the second half with a score of 2-0 and revolutionized the game in just five minutes. He was involved in three goals and came out with his teammates when the score was 6-1. Festival of Gates of Al Dawsari (Nasser and Salem, twice), Malcom, Al Shahrani and Mitrovic. Add the attacking skills of Malcom, Milinkovic-Savic, Michael and Mitrovic to those of Neymar and Al Hilal is an offensive whirlwind.
Al Hilal walked commandingly into the square before his audience. The Riyadh team, one of the four members of the PIF, knows it will be expected to carry the party’s weight, and it did. Mitrovic was the protagonist while Neymar was attentive from the bench in a first half where Malcom and Nasser Al Dawsari wanted to take center stage. All of Al Hilal’s attacks were directed against the Serb. His man’s goal came close to his fifth goal of the season several times until half an hour into the game when he won the ball and converted the penalty that was awarded to Michael just before half-time due to a slight touch from Al Shwirekh. The game became even more difficult for Al Hilal when Al Shahrani and Milinkovic-Savic met near the penalty area just before half-time. The full-back passed the ball to the Serbian midfielder, who crossed at will so he could finish. The small danger that Al Riyahd caused came from Juanmi. The Spanish striker, who received the yellow card, first tried an offside play and then a dribble inside the penalty area.
The second part began with “Oops!” from the stands after Al Dawsari’s shot hit the crossbar and Neymar received applause as he went out to warm up. The tone remained the same as in the first half. Malcom, Al Dawsari and Michael had the ball and scored the third goal. However, it didn’t arrive. Malcom went up and Al Dawsari ended up at the side of the net. Another who scored was Mitrovic with a double save from Campaña and, after Neymar’s cross, a screw that grazed the post.
The eagerly awaited moment arrived. In the 64th minute of the game, Neymar came on for Michael. It took four minutes for the Brazilian’s influence to set in as he sent a broken ball to Malcom who, overwhelmed by the goalkeeper, left only Nasser Al Dawsari to score the third with a light touch. The referee hesitated and, after consultation, gave the goal. The most expensive signing in the history of the Saudi Pro League had time to have fun with a foul that touched the barrier, an assist for Malcom and almost put the icing on the cake with a goal. The fourth goal of the game was Neymar’s first assist for Al Hilal. He came so that his compatriot could sign the poker that sealed the game. However, there were still three more goals to celebrate. The two from Al Hilal came from Salem Al Dawsari. The fifth overall resulted from a penalty due to a handball by Al Zaqan on a move that Neymar controlled, and the sixth came in stoppage time. Al Zaqan had time to score the winning goal before the end of the game. Neymar’s debut and sole leadership for Jorge Jesús’ team. Ney’s show in Arabia has already started…
Carrasco debuts with victory and support
Yannick Carrasco played his first game for Al Shabab. The Belgian footballer played the 90 minutes on the right wing, a position in which he felt uncomfortable at Atlético. The winger played the role expected of him. Carrasco took the corner, placed it in the middle, with which Saiss scored the winning goal against Al Feiha and gave them the first three points of the championship. In the other game on Friday, Tellos Al Fateh won at Al Khaalej with a brace from Batna and a goal from Bendebka. The Portuguese Fabio Martins scored the local goal to make it 1:3.
