Neymar inspired Al-Hilal to a 3-0 victory over Iran’s Nassaji Mazandaran in the second round of the AFC Champions League group stages.
The Brazilian has been under pressure recently at Al-Hilal after a slow start to life in Al-Riyadh following his £77 million move from Paris Saint-Germain.
After failing to find the back of the net in the Saudi Pro League, Neymar was heavily criticised for his lacklustre performances.
His form also sparked rumours of a rift with head coach Jorge Jesus but the Portuguese manager dismissed such reports.
Despite a rough start, the 31-year-old’s goal drought ended on Tuesday evening as he opened his scoring account for Al-Hilal against Nassaji Mazandaran.
The record Asian champions were set for a relatively comfortable evening and had an Aleksandar Mitrovic goal ruled out for offside in the opening minutes.
Just seconds later, Mitrovic found the back of the net again with a trademark header but this time, the Serbian’s goal stood as he gave Al-Hilal the lead.
The game took a huge turn before the break as both sides were reduced to ten men with Nassaji Mazandaran’s Amirmohammad Houshmand and Salman Al-Faraj of Al-Hilal receiving straight red cards for violent conduct.
However, the visitors were not affected and managed to double the scoring after 58 minutes through Neymar’s left-footed strike.
The former Barcelona winger almost netted his second of the night moments later but his finish only found the post before the ball was cleared on the rebound.
Saudi international Saleh Al-Shehri sealed the victory in stoppage time as his touch diverted Nasser Al-Dawsari’s long-range shot into the net for their third.
The win moved Al-Hilal to the top of Group D in the AFC Champions League with four points, level with rivals Navbahor after two games.