A Brace From Ronaldo Helps Al Nassr To Become Champions Of The Arab Club Cup

Former Manchester United Winger, Cristiano Ronaldo was pivotal to his current team, Al Nassr winning the Arab Club Champions Cup. During the match, the Portuguese footballer scored two goals against Al-Hilal. The Arab Club Champions Cup final was played recently to determine the eventual champions of the tournament. 

Al Nassr beating Al-Hilal 

Al Nassr are known to be bitter rivals with Al-Hilal. This was the case during the cup final as both teams struggled for 90 minutes. However, after the game went into extra time, Al Nassr was able to score through Ronaldo to take the final score to 2 – 1. The match was a close encounter as Al Nassr had played for about 60 minutes with 10 men against Al-Hilal with a complete team. 

Al-Hilal scored first but Ronaldo scored twice

Before Ronaldo rose to the occasion to seal the victory for his team, it was Al-Hilal who first scored a goal. Michael, the winger from Brazil had scored a goal through a fabulous header. This goal for Al-Hilal had come in the early minutes of the second half. Then a short while later, a player from Al Nassr was sent off. Al Nassr’s Abdulelah Al-Amri had committed a last-man foul against a player from Al-Hilal at the 71st-minute mark. It looked like Al Nassr was going to lose the match and the trophy. However, Ronaldo scored before the match ended to take both teams to extra time. Then later, Ronaldo scored one more time to seal a win for Al Nassr. 

El Classico of the Middle East 

The final between these two top teams from Saudi Arabia had been dubbed the “el classico of the Middle East.” It features players who are household names on both sides. For Al Hilal, you have big names such as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, and Kalidou Koulibaly. Al Nassr also had some big names like Alex Telles, Marcelo Brozovic, Sadio Mane, and Ronaldo starting for their side. Al Hilal’s Salem Al-Dawsari would have scored the first goal of the match. However, he wasted that chance as two defenders of Al Nassr put intense pressure on him. On the other end of the pitch, Al Nassr’s Brozovic almost scored a goal for his side but was denied as Mohammed Alowais pulled a heroic save. 

Al-Hilal’s goal and the provocation of Ronaldo 

During the game, Al Nassr outplayed their opponents but it was Al-Hila who scored first. About 5 minutes to the end of the first half, Al-Hilal had scored through Brazil’s Michael. With a diving header, the forward scored for his team. As if that were not enough, he went and teased Ronaldo by celebrating with his famous “SIU” celebration. Then later towards the end of the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal of his own to level the score. Soon Al Nassr will be dealt another blow with the dismissal of Al-Amri, who was Al Nassr’s centre-back defender. 

Ronaldo’s first silverware since leaving Juventus 

This Arab club champions cup is currently Ronaldo’s first trophy since signing for the leading Saudi Arabian side. The last silverware he had was the Coppa Italia that he had won with Juventus in 2021.