Neymar returns to the field after 371 days, should Ronaldo be worried?

Neymar came on in the 77th minute to replace Nasser Al Dawsari when Al Hilal were leading Al Ain 5-3. He played energetically, almost scoring a goal in the 87th minute but the ball missed the post. However, Al Hilal were down to 10 men when Ali Albulayhi was sent off in the 82nd minute, helping Al Ain reduce the score to 4-5 in the 90+6th minute.

Neymar played nearly 20 minutes in his return to the field after 371 days of absence.

This match also had 2 players scoring hat-tricks: Soufiane Rahimi of Al Ain and Salem Aldawsari of Al Hilal. However, everyone was waiting for the return of Neymar, Al Hilal's number 1 star.

Although he only played for nearly 20 minutes, Neymar was extremely happy. After the match, he expressed his emotions: "I feel good. But everything is difficult, because I just returned to play after such a long break. There were times when I thought there was no hope. However, the whole team helped me a lot. This is a very good team. I am very happy with my return."

Neymar moved to Al Hilal from PSG in August 2023 for a fee of up to 90 million euros and has an annual income of more than 150 million euros (including salary and sponsorship). But the 32-year-old Brazilian star only played 5 matches, scored 1 goal and had 3 assists, before being out for more than a year due to a serious knee injury.

Without Neymar, Al Hilal with the remaining stars such as Bono, Renan Lodi, Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Malcom and Mitrovic, are still capable of winning the treble in the 2023 - 2024 season when winning the Saudi Pro League, King's Cup and Super Cup of Saudi Arabian football.

In the 2024 - 2025 season, Al Hilal also strengthened star Cancelo from Man City and had the return of Neymar from the second leg of the Saudi Pro League in early 2025.

Neymar happy to return, significantly strengthens Al Hilal Club

This also means that it will be more and more difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr Club in the race to win the Saudi Pro League championship. Al Hilal defeated Al Nassr 4-1 at the beginning of the season to soon win the Super Cup. They continue to lead the Saudi Pro League with 21 points after 7 rounds, 4 points more than Al Nassr.

In the AFC Champions League, after winning against Al Ain, Al Hilal continues to lead the West Asia region with 9 points after 3 wins. Al Nassr with 1 win, 1 draw is temporarily ranked 4th and will have a match against Esteghlal FC (Iran) at 11pm on October 22.

In this match, Ronaldo will likely continue to play, after just scoring his 907th career goal from the 11m mark in Al Nassr's 2-1 win over Al Shabab on October 19 in the Saudi Pro League.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/neymar-tro-lai-san-co-sau-371-ngay-ronaldo-co-nen-lo-185241022105432462.htm