Ronaldo scores but Al-Nassr loses to Al-Hilal in Saudi Super Cup

ABHA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo is still waiting for his first domestic trophy in Saudi Arabia after Al-Nassr lost 4-1 to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup on Saturday.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored the opening goal just before halftime in the season's curtain-raiser between Saudi Pro League champion Al-Hilal and runner-up Al-Nassr.

However, the 39 year-old forward then cut a frustrated figure after Al-Hilal netted four times in a 17-minute span in the second half, with former Newcastle and Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrović getting two goals.

Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in December 2022 and set a league record last season with 35 goals, scored from close range in the 44th minute after being teed up by Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic made it 1-1 in the 55th, scoring from just inside the area, and Mitrović then netted twice in six minutes. Brazilian winger Malcom added Al-Hilal’s fourth to give the league champion a second successive Super Cup victory.

“We showed how good we are in the second half,” Mitrović said. “We had some problems in the first half and then changed in the second. We stayed calm and it feels good to get a trophy at the start of the season.”

Al-Hilal, which is still waiting for Neymar to return from a knee ligament injury that has kept the Brazilian out since last October, kicks off its title defense against Al-Okhdood next Saturday. Al-Nassr takes on Al-Raed two days earlier. ___

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