Neymar return overshadowed as Al-Dawsari's hat-trick seals Al-Hilal win

HONG KONG : Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal handed defending champions Al-Ain a dramatic 5-4 defeat in the Asian Champions League Elite on Monday as Salem Al-Dawsari's hat-trick in an incident-filled clash overshadowed Neymar's return to competitive action.

Neymar, who has been sidelined since a cruciate ligament rupture last October, was a 77th minute substitute as the Saudi Pro League side avenged last season's semi-final loss against Al-Ain despite playing the closing stages with 10 men.

The win keeps Al-Hilal on top of the league standings in west Asia after three rounds with nine points, where they are joined by fellow Saudi side Al-Ahli after their 2-1 win over Qatar's Al-Rayyan.

Gabri Veiga scored direct from a corner to give Al-Ahli a 16th minute lead before Feras Al-Brikan headed in his side's second seven minutes from the break, although Fahad Al-Hamad's own goal left his side clinging on for the final 25 minutes.

Qatar's Al-Sadd picked up their second win of the campaign to move onto seven points as Matheus Uribe's first half goal downed Persepolis of Iran while Al-Shorta from Iraq and Pakhtakor of Uzbekistan played out a 0-0 draw.

Al-Hilal's third consecutive win in the competition came as Jorge Jesus' side edged their hosts in a nine-goal thriller at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in which both Al-Dawsari and Al-Ain's Soufiane Rahimi scored hat-tricks.

"There were a lot of goals, a lot of chances and we managed to win the game with one player less in the end, so it's a big win for us," said Al-Hilal striker Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Al-Hilal had taken the lead in the 26th minute through Renan Lodi's low strike but Rahimi levelled from close range with six minutes left in the first half.

However, an injury-time header from Sergej