In a dramatic turn of events, Ali Al-Bulaihi’s late equalizer, scored 10 minutes into stoppage time, spared Al-Hilal’s blushes as Neymar made his highly anticipated first start for the Saudi Pro League side in a thrilling 1-1 draw against Uzbekistan’s Navbahor in the Asian Champions League clash held in Riyadh on Monday.
The Saudi Arabia international defender, Al-Bulaihi, rose to the occasion, meeting a pinpoint cross from Brazilian winger Michael to cancel out Toma Tabatadze’s 52nd-minute strike. Tabatadze’s goal had appeared to be steering Samvel Babayan’s Navbahor side toward a surprising victory before Al-Bulaihi’s dramatic header.
Neymar, who arrived in Saudi Arabia over the summer in a headline-making transfer worth 90 million euros ($96 million) from Paris St Germain, was handed his first start for Al-Hilal. However, the Brazilian superstar found himself frustrated throughout the encounter, with victory seemingly slipping away.
The equalizing goal from Al-Bulaihi came during an extraordinary period of more than 14 minutes of injury time, ending Navbahor’s resilient stand against their high-spending opponents.
As the competition progresses, only the winners of the 10 groups in the 40-team Asian Champions League are guaranteed a spot in the last 16. Al-Hilal currently trails debutants Nassaji Mazandaran in the early standings, with the Iranian team leading Group D following a 2-0 victory over Mumbai City from India. Ehsan Hosseini and Mohammad Reza Azadi secured the win with a goal each in Pune.
In another fixture, Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 victory in Group C against AGMK from Uzbekistan. Notably, ex-Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was not included in the squad by coach Nuno Espirito Santo. Haroune Camara opened the scoring for Al-Ittihad in the 11th minute, Romarinho doubled the lead four minutes later, and the Brazilian added a third from the penalty spot just before halftime.
Al-Ittihad currently leads the group, while Air Force Club and Sepahan from Iran played to a 2-2 draw, with 19-year-old Ali Jassim scoring twice for the Iraqi side in Erbil.
Meanwhile, Nasaf from Uzbekistan secured a late 1-0 victory over Jordan’s Al-Faisaly to top Group B. In another Group B matchup, Qatar’s Al Sadd and Sharjah from the United Arab Emirates shared the spoils in a goalless draw.
