At that time, the 85-minute Al Nassr-Al Hilal match was going on in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup. Al Hilal’s Ali Albulayhi went to the sidelines and collected the ball. The ball was taken by Cristiano Ronaldo before he had a chance. An Al Hilal defender tried to stop Ronaldo’s progress, and at one point the Portuguese superstar elbowed him.
Albulayhi suffered an injury on the field right away. At this time, the players of both sides rushed there, along with the referee. During the altercation, the referee gave Ronaldo a straight red card. Unable to accept the decision, Al Nassr showed his anger by clenching his fist at the star referee and pretending to punch him. Cristiano then looked at the referee, removed the armband, and left the field. Al Hilal fans chanted ‘Messi’ ‘Messi’ as usual amid Ronaldo’s fury.
Ronaldo‘s exit after seeing this red card is basically a reflection of Al Nassr’s performance in the match. In this match against Al Hilal, Al Nassr trailed 2-0 before Ronaldo saw a red card. In the end, Al Nasr lost 2-1 and left the Super Cup. Sadio Mane’s late goal only narrowed the gap. Al Hilal’s opponent in the final on April 11 is Al Ittihad.
Ronaldo‘s Al Nassr lost the Saudi Pro League championship to Al Hilal. The Saudi Super Cup offered an opportunity to make that up. However, the semi-final game also demonstrated Al Hilal’s strength. They controlled Al Nasr the entire game.
At the beginning of the match, however, Ronaldo had an opportunity to advance the team. But in the 17th minute, ‘CR Seven’ wasted the chance by hitting the goalkeeper over the post. Otavio then scored in first-half stoppage time, but it was ruled out for offside. In the end, the two teams went into the break with a scoreless tie.
In the 61st minute of the second half, Salem Aldawsari, a star for Al Hilal, broke the tie. Dawsari scored a great finish. In the 66th minute, Malcom’s shot came back off the post.
However, Al Hilal did not have to wait more than 72 minutes to take a 2-0 lead. Malcolm scored the goal with his head. Then Al Nassr desperately tried to return to the match. However, they could not return to the fight after Ronaldo’s red card. Sadio Mane’s late goal provided just the consolation.
Al Nasr coach Luis Castro blamed the opposition player for Ronaldo’s red card at the end of the game. “Ali Albulayhi made a play in front of Ronaldo and the referee today,” he said. This season, we have seen Ronaldo repeatedly provoked by the opposition.
Ronaldo’s Al Nassr’s next match will be on April 19. Al Feiha will be Al Nassr’s opponent in that Saudi Pro League match.
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