Cristiano Ronaldo Misses First Domestic Trophy in Saudi Arabia

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. Despite Ronaldo scoring the opening goal, Al-Hilal came back with four goals in the second half, securing their second successive Super Cup victory.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still awaiting his first domestic trophy in Saudi Arabia, following Al-Nassr's 4-1 defeat to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup on Saturday.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner opened the scoring just before halftime in the season's opener between Saudi Pro League champion Al-Hilal and runner-up Al-Nassr.

However, the 39-year-old forward was left frustrated as Al-Hilal scored four times within 17 minutes in the second half, with two goals from former Premier League striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr in December 2022 and set a league record last season with 35 goals, netted in the 44th minute after a pass from Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic equalized in the 55th minute, and Mitrovic scored twice in six minutes. Brazilian winger Malcom added Al-Hilal's fourth goal, securing their second consecutive Super Cup title.

"We showed how good we are in the second half," said Mitrovic. "We had some problems in the first half but remained calm and it feels good to win a trophy at the start of the season." Al-Hilal, still waiting for Neymar's return from a knee ligament injury, will begin its title defense against Al-Okhdood next Saturday, while Al-Nassr faces Al-Raed two days earlier.

(With inputs from agencies.)