Neymar Jr. showered by boos by Al-Hilal fans on his debut

Just minutes into his Saudi Pro League debut, Neymar's new Al-Hilal supporters began to jeer the Brazilian player and their own club after a penalty incident.

Chirag

September 17, 2023

“Neymar’s debut with Al-Hilal was marked by disapproving boos and jeers from his own supporters when he chose not to take a penalty during his new team’s 6-1 victory over Al-Riyadh last Friday.

The Brazilian footballer, who completed a £78 million transfer from PSG during the summer, finally made his debut in Saudi Arabia after the delay caused by the international break. However, it turned out to be an unusual start for the former Barcelona superstar as he and his teammates faced criticism despite their 4-0 lead at that point in the game.

Al-Hilal had already taken a 3-0 lead with goals from former Fulham player Aleksandar Mitrovic, Saudi international Yasser Alshahrani, and Nasser Aldawsari before Neymar’s arrival, which was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the crowd. Former Barcelona winger Malcom then scored a fourth goal for the home team. Shortly before the end of the 90 minutes, Al-Hilal was awarded a penalty.

Neymar, who recently surpassed Pele to become Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, had an excellent chance to open his scoring account with the penalty kick. However, much to the disappointment of the fans, Salem Aldawsari stepped forward to take the penalty. Neymar remained outside the 18-yard box, while boos and jeers echoed from the stands as fans hoped to see their new star score from the spot.

Aldawsari successfully converted the penalty and later added his second goal of the game, securing Al-Hilal’s sixth goal in added time to complete the rout. Unfortunately, Neymar didn’t manage to find the net during the match. Nevertheless, he didn’t display any signs of frustration as he joined Aldawsari and his teammates in their celebrations.

Following this convincing victory, Al-Hilal climbed to the top of the Saudi Pro League, edging past last season’s champions, Al-Ittihad, by a single point.

However, the early surprise performers, Al-Taawoun, who defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr 2-0 earlier in the season and have been active in the transfer market, have the opportunity to level the points at the summit if they defeat Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino’s Al-Ahli on Saturday.”