Cristiano Ronaldo led 10-man Al-Nassr towards their first-ever Arab Club Champions Cup title on Saturday with two goals in a 2-1 victory over neighboring Saudi team Al-Hilal in extra time.
After joining Al-Nassr, the Saudi Pro League runners-up, Ronaldo did not win a trophy last season, but the 38-year-old scored six goals in the competition to end up as its top scorer and win the championship.
The competition featured teams from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria in addition to the top Arab clubs in the region.
Goalkeeper Mohammed Alowais turned away numerous scoring opportunities for the star-studded Al-Nassr team in the opening period, including those from recent close-season additions Sadio Mane, Seko Fofana, and Marcelo Brozovic.
Six minutes into the second half, Al-Hilal's Malcom passed the ball into the path of teammate Brazilian Michael, who gave his team the lead with a free header. Until that point, the game remained scoreless.
The 27-year-old even performed the Ronaldo goal celebration as he went to the corner flag and sprang into the air. Ronaldo appeared to be energized by that, and he equalized in the 74th minute by converting a low cross from right-back Sultan Al-Ghannam to score for the fifth straight game.
Al-Nassr also had two players dismissed seven minutes apart in the second half, including defender Abdulelah Al-Amri and substitute Nawaf Boushal, but they managed to hold on and force extra time.
When the goalkeeper was off his line, Ronaldo seized on a rebound off the crossbar and headed in to extend the lead in the first half of extra time.
But only two days before their Saudi Pro League debut against Al-Ettifaq, Ronaldo was taken off the pitch with what appeared to be an injury following a collision in the second overtime.
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