Cristiano Ronaldo bags two as he finally wins trophy with Al Nassr – but suffers injury

Cristiano Ronaldo ended his wait for Saudi silverware as he bagged a brace in the Arab Club Champions Cup final against Al-Hilal – but he was forced off with an injury

Posted Sunday, August 13, 2023 by Dailystar.co.uk

Cristiano Ronaldo ended his wait for a trophy in Saudi Arabia in true fashion as he bagged a brace as Al-Nassr came from a goal behind to beat Al-Hilal in the Arab Club Champions Cup.

It's the first silverware Ronaldo has got his hands on in Saudi since moving to the Middle East in January after leaving Manchester United.

Al-Nassr found themselves a goal down six minutes into the second half as Brazilian midfielder Michael then proceeded to celebrate with Ronaldo's 'SIU' celebration.

Ronaldo was Al-Nassr's standout man and in trademark fashion turned up at the big time as his 74th minute equaliser sent the final to extra time before he headed home the winning goal in the 98th minute.

Ronaldo's winner came with his side down to nine players after Abdulelah Al-Amri and Nawaf Boushal had both been sent off.

But the five-time Ballon d'Or winners' smile soon vanished after he was taken off with five minutes left in the second half of extra time - leaving the pitch wincing in pain.

The extent of Ronaldo's injury is not yet known and he and Al-Nassr face an anxious wait to find out with them to begin their Saudi Pro League campaign on Monday against Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq.

Ronaldo's impact on the game was so great that he left former Chelsea flop Kalidou Koulibaly spinning, with the Al-Hilal defender delivering two crunching tackles on Ronaldo in the first half.

Some Al-Nassr players had to step in to hold a furious Ronaldo back from Koulibaly following the second tackle which brought the centre-back a yellow card.

Tensions between the two sides then escalated after full-time when Al-Nassr's Anderson Talisca sparked chaos as he attempted to plant a flag in the pitch following their cup final victory.