"The new glass Dembele", "He is cursed should retire it's over" - Fans react as Neymar Jr suffers fresh injury in Al Hilal's 3-0 win over Esteghlal
Fans on X have reacted in dismay after Al-Hilal superstar Neymar picked up a suspected muscle injury during their 3-0 win against Esteghlal. The two sides locked horns in their AFC Champions League fixture at the Kingdom Arena on Monday, November 4.
Al-Hilal's dominant start to the season continued as they cruised to a win against the Iranian outfit. Aleksandar Mitrovic netted a hat-trick (15', 33', and 74') to help the hosts seal all three points.
Jorge Jesus opted to bring on Neymar in the 58th minute as a second-half substitute in place of Abdullah Al-Hamdan. The Brazilian made just his second appearance of the season, having recently recovered from a serious ACL injury which prematurely ended his 2023-24 campaign last October.
Unfortunately, the 32-year-old only lasted 29 minutes on the pitch before pulling up short and clutching the back of his leg. He was subsequently subbed off in place of Mohammed Hamad Al-Qahtani.
One Al-Hilal fan reacted by comparing Neymar to Ousmane Dembele, who has a reputation for being injury-prone:
"Neymar is injured again. He is the new glass Dembele."
Another fan tweeted:
"He is cursed should retire its over."
Other fans reacted below:
"Neymar is subbed off receiving a knock on his right leg. Doesn’t seem serious, they probably don’t want to risk anything," one fan insisted
"Hopefully it’s not serious :/" another commented
"Bro needs to leave football the football has left him," another added
"Washed allegations were true," another chimed in
"Gotta be the most unlucky player of all time. He hasn’t had an injury free season in nearly a decade now, brutal," one fan pointed out
Who was the highest-rated player during AFC Champions League fixture between Neymar's Al-Hilal and Esteghlal?
Al-Hilal's perfect night was dampened as key superstar Neymar was subbed off with an injury. However, they were able to secure an impressive 3-0 win against Esteghlal in the AFC Champions League. They are currently at the top of Group B with 12 points from four games, five points ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr.
Alexandar Mitrovic was the highest-rated player on the pitch, garnering a rating of 9.6 as per FotMob. The Serbian scored a perfect hat-trick with his left foot, right foot, and head, created one chance, and looked like a constant threat in attack.
Mitrovic has been pivotal for Al-Hilal this season, scoring 17 goals and providing three assists in 17 appearances across competitions. The 30-year-old is also currently the leading scorer in the Saudi Pro League, ahead of Ronaldo, having scored 10 goals in nine games.
Disclaimer: The above stats were taken from FotMob on 5th November 2024 at 2 AM IST. They are subject to change as per the platform's prerogative.