Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace on his first appearance in Saudi Arabia as PSG produced one of the high-scoring football results of the midweek action. Due to an FA suspension from his time at Manchester United, Ronaldo had to wait to make his debut with Al Nassr. However, he joined an all-star team made up of players from Riyadh’s two major teams, Al Nassr and Al Hilal, to play Paris Saint-Germain in his first game in Saudi Arabia. For the first time since Ronaldo’s Juventus team defeated Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League group stages in October 2020, Messi and Ronaldo played together on the same field. 36 prior matchups between Messi and Ronaldo had resulted in 16 victories for Messi, compared to just 11 for Ronaldo.
In the exhibition game at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh, Ronaldo, who departed Manchester United in November, was named player of the game as the teams shared nine goals. PSG ultimately won the game 5-4. Only two minutes had passed when Argentina’s World Cup champion Messi opened the score off a feed from Neymar. The All Stars, which included players from Al Hilal and Ronaldo’s new team Al Nassr, tied the score when the Portugal captain scored a penalty after Keylor Navas of PSG fouled him. Even though it was only a friendly, Juan Bernat’s red card for a foul caused PSG to drop to 10 men.
Marquinhos, a center-half, scored during a corner to give the French team a new lead. After being fouled in the box, Neymar’s poor penalty attempt was saved by Mohammed al-Owais. Ronaldo then tied it 2-2 just before halftime by converting the rebound after his header rebounded off a post. Sergio Ramos, a former Real Madrid teammate of Ronaldo’s, gave PSG the lead once more before Jang Hyun-soo equalized. The 37-year-old Ronaldo was taken out of the game after an hour, so there would be no hat trick for him. Hugo Ekitike scored a goal and Kylian Mbappe converted a penalty to give the visitors a 2-0 lead before Anderson Talisca pulled one back.
After about 30 minutes in Riyadh, the city that rose to sports prominence for hosting a world heavyweight championship boxing match in 2019, Ronaldo was flattened boxing-match style by PSG goalkeeper Navas. Ronaldo grimaced in pain from his bruised cheekbone but steadied himself before scoring from the penalty spot for his first goal in Saudi Arabia against a Paris Saint-Germain team featuring his old foe Messi who had already scored early in Thursday’s exhibition game. Navas, not Anthony Joshua, was the one to elbow Ronaldo in the face with his forearm while defending against a high ball. Both collapsed like defeated boxers.
In an attempt to test his painful left cheek, Ronaldo held his head, stood back up, and yawned, sending Navas the wrong way. Ronaldo was a former Real Madrid teammate. Ronaldo’s cheekbone was bright apple red by the conclusion of the first half, but he was beaming after scoring his second goal, blasting in a rebound after his header had hit the post and bounced back. Ronaldo wheeled away in joy, sticking his tongue out, and was surrounded by teammates near the corner flag.
Just before the second half, Mbappe checked on the condition of Ronaldo’s cheek. Ronaldo capitalized on his attention by pointing to the red mark. Mbappe grinned at him as if to suggest, “You’ll be OK,” and in front of 68,000 spectators at King Fahd International Stadium, Ronaldo triumphantly lifted his arm like a heavyweight champion. Despite the fact that his team was defeated, Ronaldo edged out Messi in what may have been the final meeting of the two players as one of the most famous football rivalries restarted in an unusual setting. Just after the hour mark, the Portuguese, Mbappe, and Argentina’s World Cup-winning icon Messi exited to thunderous applause. Marcelo Gallardo, who was coaching the joint Saudi Arabian team, gave Messi a loving embrace.
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