Neymar said it felt good to be back after his late cameo off the bench in Al Hilal’s extraordinary 5-4 win against Al Ain in the AFC Champions League Elite.
The Brazil forward was brought on in the 76th minute of the West Region group match at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.
It was his first match action in almost exactly a year since he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while on international duty.
“I feel good,” Neymar said in a short clip on the Saudi Pro League club’s social media feed after the final whistle.
“It’s so hard, Al Ain have a good team. But I’m so happy. I’m back.”
In a wildly fluctuating game, Neymar actually got far longer on the field than his coach, Jorge Jesus, had intended.
Al Hilal are aiming to ease their star player back to full fitness. His workload is likely to be gentle for some time yet, given he is not registered as part of the club’s Saudi Pro League squad until January.
It means his appearances will be largely consigned to their group games in the Champions League. They have three more of those between now and the end of year, with the visit of Iranian side Esteghlal to Riyadh next on November 4.
After such a significant injury and lengthy lay off, Neymar’s comeback is likely to be staged in increasing spells of game time.
Initially, that meant a 15-minute appearance at the end of the game in Al Ain. However, such was the craziness of the game, he was actually on the field for 26 minutes, as the referee was forced to play 12 minutes of stoppage time due to all the drama.
In the time he was on the field, there was a sending off for Al Hilal centre back Ali Al Bulayhi, a penalty, and a goal, while Neymar himself had a number of shooting opportunities on the break.
He also had time to execute one exquisite trademark nutmeg near the touchline, just in front of where his young daughter was sat with her mother.
“When I put Neymar in it was 5-3, there was a two-goal difference, there were spaces,” Jesus, Al Hilal’s coach, said.
“But the red card came right after the substitution, which left us with one striker less, so [Aleksandr] Mitrovic had to leave the field. We then had less offensive power to the team.
“I need to prepare Neymar through the games; that’s the only possible means to bring him to his level, which was the idea today.
“There are some risks for the team because we need to use the games to prepare him, but it’s the only way to have one of our important players back to the highest level.”
Neymar’s appearance was just one – highly significant – footnote to a game that was packed with incidents.
There were hat-tricks for two outstanding forwards, Hilal’s Salem Al Dawsari and Al Ain’s Soufiane Rahimi, plus further goals for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Renan Lodi and Mateo Senabria.
Despite losing and now being precariously placed on one point from three group matches so far, Al Ain’s players were applauded by their fans for the fight they had showed in defeat.
“It was a great [advert] for football,” Hernan Crespo, Al Ain’s manager, said. “I think anyone who had the opportunity to see the game will think the same.
“I am very proud of the performance of the team. It is not easy to play against, for me, the best team in Asia. They have great players.
“The performance of our team was really amazing. We played against great players with a lot of talent and a lot of quality, but we played in the other side of the pitch, we created a lot of chances and we fought for every single ball.
“Yes, of course, we conceded a little bit, but that is football. We are a team built to attack, and we need to concede something if we are going to play in the way Al Ain wants to play, and to attack and create chances.”
The five pillars of Islam
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
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The five pillars of Islam
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
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Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
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General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
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5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
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UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
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EXPATS
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Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
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- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
