Neymar has time to recover before his next game, however, as he is not registered for the team’s matches in the Saudi Pro League and the next fixture in the AFC competition is on Nov. 25.
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a hat trick for Al-Hilal, the four-time Asian champion which has now won all four games in the group stage.
All three goals from the Serbian came from close range. He opened the scoring after 15 minutes, added a second just after the half-hour mark and then completed his hat trick with 16 minutes remaining.
Al-Hilal remains top of the 12-team group, where the top eight will advance to the Round of 16. It is above Saudi Arabian rival Al-Ahli on goal difference after the team from Jeddah thrashed Al-Shorta of Iraq 5-1 with former Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino scoring twice in the first half.
Earlier, Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates drew 1-1 with Qatar’s Al-Sadd and the game between Persepolis of Iran and Al-Gharafa of Qatar ended in the same scoreline.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer