- Cristiano Ronaldo’s double led Al Nassr to victory in Arab Club Champions Cup final against Al-Hilal
- Despite playing with 10 men, Ronaldo’s goals secured a comeback win for Al Nassr, earning Ronaldo the Golden Boot
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to help Al Nassr win the Arab Club Champions Cup final on Saturday.
Despite playing for nearly an hour with only 10 men, Al Nassr defeated Saudi rivals Al-Hilal 2-1 in extra time.
Michael, a Brazilian winger, headed Al-Hilal ahead early in the second half before Al Nassr were reduced to ten men in the 71st minute for a last-man foul by Abdulelah Al-Amri.
However, Ronaldo equalised to force extra time before scoring again to complete a stunning comeback.
Summer signings Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic all made their debuts for Al-Hilal, while Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Marcelo Brozovic, and Alex Telles started for Al Nassr.
Under pressure from two Al Nassr defenders, Salem Al-Dawsari had the first chance of the game but ballooned a shot high and wide.
Following a fine cross by Mane, Al-Hilal keeper Mohammed Alowais made a superb save to deny Brozovic his first goal for Al Nassr.
Before halftime, Alowais was called upon twice more. He denied Abdullah Al Khaibari’s powerful 20-yard effort before denying Ronaldo from close range.
After finishing second in the first half, Al-Hilal took the lead five minutes into the second.
Michael scored with a diving header and then imitated Ronaldo’s famous ‘SIU’ goal celebration. Ronaldo would respond later.
When center-back Al-Amri was dismissed, Al Nassr’s hopes of a comeback appeared to be fading.
Al Nassr, on the other hand, defied their numerical advantage to draw level almost immediately after being reduced to ten men, thanks to Sultan Al-Ghannam’s low cross, which set up Ronaldo, who celebrated by waving his finger directly at Michael.
Ronaldo had the ball in the net against but was correctly called offside.
Cristiano Ronaldo is shown waving his finger after scoring for Al Nassr against Al-Hilal in the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup final.
But Ronaldo would not be denied, heading home from a rebound after Seko Fofana had rattled the crossbar from long range in the eighth minute of extra time.
Despite late Al-Hilal pressure, Al Nassr held firm to win their first trophy since 2020.
Meanwhile, this was Ronaldo’s first trophy since winning the Coppa Italia in May 2021 with Juventus.
The 38-year-old had been crucial to Al Nassr’s successful Arab Club Champions Cup campaign.
Ronaldo finished the tournament as the tournament’s leading scorer, winning the Golden Boot with six goals.
He scored the game-winning goal in the semi-finals against Iraqi champions Al-Shorta SC, after scoring in the last eight against Moroccan outfit Raja Club Athletic.
Al Nassr had been on the verge of elimination in the group stage until Ronaldo netted an 87th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Egypt’s Zamalek.
He had earlier scored his first goal of the season in a 4-1 victory over Union Sportive Monastirienne of Tunisia.
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