Often touted as the big man for the big occasions, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Al-Nassr defeated domestic rivals Al-Hilal 2-1 to lift the Arab Club Champions Cup for the first time in their history. Al-Hilal had taken the lead through Michael, before Al-Nassr were reduced to 9 men, following red cards for Abdulelah Al-Amri and Nawaf Boushal. Despite his team both, a goal and two men down, Ronaldo rolled back the years with a stunning 24-minute cameo.
The Al-Nassr captain equalised in the 74th minute, slotting home from close range after Sultan Al-Ghanam drove a ball towards the center of the box.
CRISTIANO RONALDO GOAL IN THE CUP FINAL !
THE GREATEST THERE IS, THE GREATEST THERE WAS, THE GREATEST THERE WILL EVER BE
pic.twitter.com/4QUrjPXXYM
— Mikael Madridista (@MikaelMadridsta) August 12, 2023
The match went to extra time after Al-Nassr were denied clear a penalty for a tackle on Ghislan Konan.
Ronaldo also had a goal disallowed for off-side, while Al-Hilal too had a penalty shout waved off by VAR.
Al-Nassr finally took the lead eight minutes into extra-time as new signing Seko Fofana’s long-range effort came off the crossbar, only for Ronaldo to head home from close range
The 38-year-old was surrounded by opposition but he managed to generate enough power to put his team in front.
CRISTIANO RONALDO THE GREATEST THERE IS THE GREATEST THERE WAS THE GREATEST THERE EVER WILL BE
10 MEN AL NASSR IS SO CLOSE TO THE CUP
pic.twitter.com/j4ewWiyoxl— aurora (@cr7stianos) August 12, 2023
Despite dominating 57 percent of possession, Al-Hilal failed to capitalise and were punished by their Saudi League rivals.
Ronaldo, who is the leading scorer in the tournament with six goals, was taken off in the 115th minute due to an injury.
The Saudi Arabian side will be worried about the severity of the star’s injury and will have the issue assessed.
His participation against Al-Ettifaq in their first match of the new season on Monday now remains a doubt.
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