Neymar has perfect introduction to Saudi Arabian football despite Al-Hilal draw

RIYADH: ‘Neymar is Blue’. That was the message that lit up the Riyadh sky on Saturday as the superstar was introduced to fans at his new club of Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. It was an impressive greeting  to an impressive signing but the Brazilian legend, who strolled around the King Fahd International Stadium in that famous shirt, now knows that this is not going to be a walk in the park as his new team was held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Fayha in the second round of games this season.

Neymar’s former club Paris Saint-Germain has dominated French football for much of the last decade but while Al-Hilal are the most successful club in Saudi Arabia with 18 titles and also Asia with four championships, the Roshn Saudi League is nothing if not competitive. Al-Fayha gave as good as they got, defended well, worked hard and cared little about the famous faces on the pitch and those watching from the sidelines.

As most expected, Al-Hilal were on top for much of the game with the talented Ruben Neves pulling the strings in midfield but went in level at the break. That was not expected earlier on. It seemed as if Michael had given the hosts the lead but the Brazilian’s well-taken strike was ruled out for offside. It must have been tight.

After 15 minutes, the visitors took the lead with a piece of individual magic. Fashion Sakala, recently signed from Glasgow Rangers, picked up the ball on the left side. The Zambian then performed a couple of stepovers that Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud of before smashing the ball into the roof of the net from close range and a narrow angle to score a goal that Neymar would also have been happy to be associated with.

The hosts, whose blue-clad fans were jumping up and