Marcos Leonardo shines as ex-Porto man is both villain and hero | OneFootball

Marcos Leonardo smiled again wearing the Al Hilal shirt in the Saudi league. Yesterday afternoon, the former Benfica striker saw his team defeat Al Najma 4-2, in a match that turned out to be more complicated than expected. Among the highlights was Rúben Neves, with the former Porto midfielder playing both villain and, later, hero.

After having contributed to the important victory in the previous round, the Brazilian striker ended up drawing a blank in the match on Friday, November 7. On the other hand, Rúben Neves had a game to remember: the Portuguese international was responsible for an own goal, but later redeemed himself by scoring the goal that sealed Al Hilal’s win.

Playing as visitors, the former Benfica side started stronger, taking control of the match from the outset. However, it was Al Najma who opened the scoring first, through Lázaro, in the 3rd minute. Before halftime, Al Hilal managed to remedy the situation and equalized in the 10th minute, thanks to a finish from Salem Al Dawsari.

In the second half, the emotions ran high and the home team was reduced to 9 men after the expulsions of Lázaro (58') and El Yamiq (76'). In between, Rúben Neves put the opponent ahead in the 60th minute by scoring an own goal. In the 71st minute, Theo Hernandez restored parity. Five minutes later, the former Porto player smiled again and completed the comeback, which was sealed with Al Dawsari’s second goal right on the 90th minute.

With this result, Al Hilal strengthens their hold on third place in the league, putting pressure on leaders Al Nassr, managed by Jorge Jesus and João Félix. After eight rounds, Marcos Leonardo’s team sits on 20 points, just one point behind the side coached by the former Benfica manager.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.