Cristiano Ronaldo secured his first trophy with Al Nassr and led the club to their inaugural Arab Club Champions Cup victory by scoring two goals in a 2-1 extra-time triumph over fellow Saudi side Al Hilal at the King Fahd Stadium on Saturday.
After failing to win any silverware in the previous season following his move to Al Nassr, Ronaldo, now 38 years old, emerged as the top scorer of the tournament, contributing six goals to secure the title.
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This competition features top Arab clubs from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.
In the first half, Al Nassr, boasting a star-studded lineup, including new signings Sadio Mane, Seko Fofana, and Marcelo Brozovic, had numerous opportunities to score, but goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais denied them on multiple occasions.
The match remained goalless until the 51st minute when Al Hilal’s Malcom delivered a cross that fellow Brazilian Michael headed in to give his team the lead.
To add insult to injury, Michael celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic goal celebration, running to the corner flag and leaping into the air.
This seemed to ignite Ronaldo, and the Portuguese captain equalized in the 74th minute, converting a low cross from right back Sultan Al-Ghannam, extending his scoring streak to five consecutive games.
In the second half, Al Nassr defender Abdulelah Al-Amri received a red card, and later, Nawaf Boushal was also sent off while on the bench for arguing with an official. Despite being reduced to 10 men, they managed to hold on and take the game to extra time.
In the first half of extra time, Ronaldo increased the lead by seizing a rebound off the crossbar and heading the ball into the net with the goalkeeper out of position.
There were concerns, however, when Ronaldo was forced off the field with a suspected injury after a collision in the second period of extra time, just two days before their opening match in the Saudi Pro League against Al Ettifaq.
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