MULTI-GOAL RONALDO WINS FIRST ARAB CLUB CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TITLE WITH AL NASR

A multi-goal performance by Cristiano Ronaldo, 38, led Al Nasr to their first Arab Club Champions League title. Ronaldo also lifted the trophy for the first time since entering the Saudi Arabian professional soccer scene. Al Nasr came back from 0-1 down to win the Arab Club Championship 2023 final against Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia) at King Fahd Stadium in Taif, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday (July 13), after Ronaldo’s 29th-minute equalizer in the second half sent the game into extra time, before the Real Madrid star scored the winner seven minutes into extra time for a 2-1 victory. Ronaldo’s multi-goal performance in the final marked his first trophy since his “surprise” arrival in Saudi Arabia on December 31 last year, when he signed a contract with Al-Nasr until 2025.Ronaldo finished runner-up to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League in the 2022-2023 season, but just eight months after joining the club, he made a name for himself by leading them to their first ever Arab Club Champions League title .Ronaldo was also the tournament’s top scorer with six goals.The Arab Club Champions Cup is a competition for clubs in the Middle East and Africa, and this year 37 clubs from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Morocco, and Algeria competed .Al-Nasr faced Al-Hilal with Ronaldo as their frontline striker and Sadio Mane, a recent transfer from Bayern Munich (Germany), as their secondary attacking option. Al-Hilal finished third in the Saudi Pro League last season, behind Al-Ittihad and Al-Nasr .The first goal belonged to Al-Hilal .After a 0-0 first half, Al-Hilal struck first in the ninth minute of the second half when Malcolm’s cross from the left corner of the penalty area was headed home by Mikael. After the goal, Mikael performed his trademark “downpour ceremony” to provoke Ronaldo .Al Nasr were further outnumbered in the second half when Abdulerahman Al Amri was sent off in the 26th minute for accumulating cautions .But in the 29th minute, Ronaldo, who was making a swift charge in front of goal, redirected Sultan Al Ghannam’s cross from 카지노사이트킹 the right flank with his right foot to level the scores. It was Ronaldo’s fifth consecutive goal in the tournament .Ronaldo struck again in the 39th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside, sending Al Nasr into extra time with the score tied at 1-1.Ronaldo was the hero in extra time. Ronaldo scored in the seventh minute of stoppage time with a header straight at the front of the net after Peko Fofana’s right-footed shot from the left side of the penalty area hit the crossbar and bounced away. Ronaldo’s header proved to be the game-winner .Ronaldo was carted off the field in pain after a collision with an opponent with five minutes left in the second half of extra time. However, he showed up to the awards ceremony in good spirits. Meanwhile, Al-Nasr will host Al-Ettifaq in the opening match of the first round of the Saudi Pro League for the 2023-2024 season at 4 a.m. local time on Nov. 15.

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