October 03, (THEWILL) – Brazilian superstar, Neymar, was on target for the first time in Al Hilal colours, as the Saudi club claimed a comfortable 3-0 away win over Iran’s Nassaji Mazandaran in the AFC Champions League on Tuesday.
Playing at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, Hilal quickly asserted their dominance and took the lead midway through the first half courtesy of a trademark header from Aleksandar Mitrovic. Amir Houshmand and Salman Al-Faraj were both sent off 20 minutes later for violent conduct.
Neymar then doubled the advantage on the hour mark with a classy finish from the edge of the box across the goalkeeper. The 30-year-old nearly grabbed a second soon after but saw his delicate chip hit the foot of the post and scrambled clear. Saleh Al Shehri wrapped up the scoring late on to seal an important victory that moves Hilal up to second in Group D.
The match had been in major doubt throughout Tuesday due to the abandoned game between Saudi rivals Al Ittihad and Sepahan on Monday. However, Hilal did take to the pitch and were able to focus on their performance. The flashpoint midway through the second half meant that both teams played the entire second half with 10 men each.
In the end though, Hilal’s quality shone through to claim three valuable points. The result leaves them level on 4 points with Navbahor in Group D, after the Uzbek side’s own 3-0 win over Mumbai City earlier in the day.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
