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3 hours ago
The Saudi Al-Nasr team was crowned King Salman Cup (Arab Football Club Championship 2023), after defeating its compatriot Al-Hilal with two goals to one, in the match that was held on Saturday evening, at King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Taif.
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo scored both goals in the match for his Saudi team, Al-Nasr.
Michel Delgado advanced to Al-Hilal in the 51st minute, before Portuguese star Ronaldo equalized for Al-Nasr in the 75th minute, so that the original time of the match ended in a draw, and the two teams ruled for two additional halves.
Then Cristiano Ronaldo managed to score the winning goal in the eighth minute of the first extra period.
Ronaldo’s second goal came after he followed up on a rebound from the crossbar, which was hit by his colleague Siko Fofana from outside the penalty area, so that Ronaldo could hit it with his head, and it landed in the net of Al Hilal team.
The Portuguese star was crowned the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, and won the Golden Boot award.
With this victory, the Al-Nasr team, led by Ronaldo, succeeded in winning the championship for the first time in its history. Al Hilal Saudi Arabia failed to achieve its third title, after winning the championship twice in 1994 and 1995.
Al-Nasr completed the match with ten players after his defender, Abdullah Al-Omari, was sent off in the 71st minute. Al-Omari was expelled after interfering with Malcolm, and the referee had issued a yellow card before resorting to the “mouse” technique, and amended his decision to expel.
The referee also refused to award a penalty kick to Al-Hilal team, after Al-Nasr scored the equalizing goal two minutes later, after a collision occurred between the players Ali Lagami from Al-Nasr and Sergey Milinkovic Savic from Al-Hilal inside the penalty area, after the referee resorted to the assistive video technique (mouse).
Al-Hilal players also demanded a penalty kick in the 116th minute of the second additional half, believing that there was a handball from the player Siko Fofana, the Al-Nasr player, inside the penalty area, but the referee decided to continue the match.
Ronaldo, the former Manchester United star and the Portugal national team, moved to the Saudi club Al-Nasr as part of a deal that extends to 2025.
Al-Nasr Club President Musali Al Muammar said after announcing the deal: “This deal is greater than writing a new historical chapter.
After the announcement of that deal, Ronaldo became the highest-paid athlete in the world for the first time since 2017 after moving to the Saudi club Al-Nasr.
Forbes magazine said the 38-year-old Portuguese striker earned $136m (£108.7m) over the past 12 months.
It is believed that the value of his contract with Al-Nassr amounts to more than 200 million euros (176.5 million pounds) annually.
Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina’s World Cup winning team, is second on the Forbes list, having earned $130m (£103.9m).
2023-08-13 02:18:47
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