See what Neymar’s debut as a starter at Al-Hilal was like
Neymar he debuted as a starter at Al-Hilal this Monday (18) with stumbles, little effectiveness and a certain amount of irritation. With the number 10 ineffective, the greatest champion of the Asian Champions League, with four titles, debuted in the competition with only a 1-1 draw in stoppage time against the modest Navbahor Namangan, from Uzbekistan, at the King Fahd International Stadium, in Riyadh.
The result is bad because only the leader of each group advances directly and in the other game in Group D, Nassaji Mazandaran, from Iran, scored 2-0 against Mumbai City, from India. There will be six rounds in this group stage and the search for rehabilitation will be at the Iranians’ home, on October 3rd.
After justifying Neymar’s presence only on the bench in the first half against Al-Riyadh – he came on and participated in four goals in the 6-1 defeat -, to have him in his entirety in the debut of the Asian Champions League, the Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus chose number 10 from the beginning.
Neymar’s debut as a starter in the Arab team was in the setting up of plays, as had already happened in Fernando Diniz’s Brazilian team. The star had the mission of serving wingers Maicon and Michael and center forward Mitrovic, repeating his performance against Al-Riyadh. But, despite total control of ball possession in the opening 45 minutes, the number 10 went unnoticed.
During the technical stoppage, Jorge Jesus used the time to guide the team to get the ball to Neymar. The Brazilian appeared, however, only in free kicks and corner kicks. All crosses without danger and a painful draw at half-time. Michael was the only one to appear well in the stage.
To make matters worse for Al-Hilal, a quick counterattack six minutes into the second half ended in a goal for the Uzbekistan team. Ismailov received it on the right, got rid of the marker and threw it to Georgian Tabatadze to open the scoring.
Soon after, Neymar suffered a harsh tackle and was left punching the ground, feeling pain in his right ankle. He wanted punishment for his opponent and got up angry and complained a lot to the referee. Nervous, he retaliated soon after, pushing his opponent to the ground and throwing a blow at the fallen marker. He ended up getting a yellow card because of his emotional imbalance.
Jorge Jesus, in disbelief, seemed to not know what to do on the edge of the field. The coach, also visibly worried, chose to call Neymar to give instructions on what he expected from the Brazilian. And the draw almost came in the first move. Michael went to the bottom and crossed back. Malcom and Neymar passed the ball and were unable to deflect the ball into the net.
Neymar started to appear more in the area and scored a beautiful volley to equalize. But the defender cut the header beforehand. Neymar got angry again after the referee ignored a pull on him. He opened his arms, demanding the clear foul was not called. With three minutes left in regulation time, the number 10 headed into the hands of the goalkeeper.
The referee gave 14 minutes of added time and the fans got excited, pushing Al-Hilal to a draw. But it was the visitors who almost increased it. Al Owais performed a miracle, defending with his chest. Visibly tired, Neymar wasn’t getting his passes or crosses right, yet he still tried to score a penalty in the 98th minute. He saw defender Bulayhi save the team with a header shortly after, after Michael’s cross.
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Romarinho shines
Without Frenchman Benzema, who felt a physical problem before the game, Brazilian Romarinho was the highlight of Al-Ittihad’s victory over AGMK in their Group C debut. The Brazilian scored a goal from a defensive rebound and another from a penalty kick. in the 3-0 victory. Camara, also grabbing a rebound on the mark, had opened the scoring.
