Cristiano Ronaldo was upstaged by another former Manchester United forward in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday as Al-Hilal’s Odion Ighalo scored twice from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win over Al-Nassr.
Portugal striker Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr on a lucrative deal last January and scored eight goals in his first five games but he has been unable to sustain that pace.
In Al-Nassr’s first game since the departure of coach Rudi Garcia, Ronaldo drew a blank while Ighalo, who had a loan spell at Manchester United in 2020, scored twice to hand Asian champions Al-Hilal the win.
Ronaldo was yellow carded in the 57th minute after he tangled with Gustavo Cuellar and things only got worse from there.
The 38-year-old had a goal disallowed for offside in the 77th minute and after he was awarded a penalty six minutes later the Video Assistant Referee re-versed the decision.
Ronaldo was later taunted as he left the field with Al-Hilal fans waving Lionel Messi shirts.
Al-Nassr interim coach Dinko Jelicic told re-porters the game changed when they conceded the first spot kick.
“The first penalty kick broke us, it was influential in the course of the match,” he said. “Al-Hilal were better than us in some periods. My team showed good glimpses and could pave the way for the next weeks.”
Al-Nassr are three points behind leaders Al-Ittihad, who have played a game less.—AFP
