Last Update: January 20, 2023, 01:32 IST
PSG beat Riyadh XI 5-3 (Twitter)
Messi’s Qatari-backed PSG won 5-4 against a combined XI of Saudi Arabian teams Al Nassr and Ronaldo-captained Al Hilal in front of 68,000 fans at the King Fahd International Stadium.
Groaning with the pain of a cheek injury, Cristiano Ronaldo kept himself steady before scoring from the penalty spot for his first goal in Saudi Arabia against a Paris Saint-Germain team featuring his old foe Lionel Messi.
Messi had already scored in Thursday’s exhibition game when Ronaldo was flattened in boxing-match style by PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas after nearly 30 minutes in Riyadh, the city that hosted the 2019 World Heavyweight Championships. The sport gained prominence for hosting boxing.
It was Navas, not Anthony Joshua, who caught Ronaldo in the face with his forearm below a high ball.
Both fell down like fallen boxers.
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Ronaldo grabbed his head, rose back, took a wide yawn as if to test his sore left cheek, and sent his former Real Madrid teammate Navas the wrong way.
By the end of the first half, Ronaldo’s cheekbones were bright apple red, but he was beaming after scoring his second goal, when his header came off the post and then crashed into the rebound. Sticking out his tongue, Ronaldo jumped in joy and was heckled by teammates at the corner flag.
When PSG star Kylian Mbappe noticed the condition of Ronaldo’s cheek just before the second half, Ronaldo caught the attention of the French people. World The cup pointed to the star and the red mark.
Mbappe smiled at him as if to say “You’ll be fine” and Ronaldo raised his hand in victory like a heavyweight champion.
Messi’s Qatari-backed PSG won 5-4 against a combined XI of Saudi Arabian sides Al Nasser and Al Hilal in front of 68,000 fans at the King Fahd International Stadium, captained by Al Nasser’s new signing Ronaldo. Though his team lost, Ronaldo might have outdone the final installment of Ronaldo vs. Messi as one of the greatest rivalries in football history restarts in an unusual venue.
Messi’s shot resulted in a handball and PSG’s fourth goal, which Mbappe scored from the penalty spot.
Ronaldo came in to a huge ovation just after the hour mark, followed by Mbappe and Argentina’s World Cup-winning star Messi, who was warmly embraced by countryman Marcelo Gallardo, who is coaching the United Saudi Arabia team.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)