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Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice on his first appearance in Saudi Arabia with Lionel Messi also on target.
Ronaldo will have to wait for his first appearance since joining Al Nassr due to FA suspension during Manchester United.
But his first match in Saudi Arabia was not in Al Nassr colors as he joined a star-studded team from two big Riyadh clubs, Al Nassr and Al Hilal, to take on Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi and Ronaldo shared the pitch for the first time since Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League group stage in October 2020.
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It took less than three minutes for Lionel Messi to open the scoring against Riyadh’s All-Star XI for PSG.
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Cristiano Ronaldo found the equalizer for Riyadh’s All-Star XI against PSG.
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Cristiano Ronaldo had his second goal of the game against PSG, with the score now 2-2.
Messi and Ronaldo have previously met 36 times, with the PSG player winning 16 matches compared to just 11 victories for Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who left Manchester United in November, was named man of the match as his team shared nine goals and PSG won 5-4 in an exhibition match at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
Argentina’s World Cup-winning Messi opened the scoring from Neymar’s pass with just two minutes on the clock.
The All Stars, made up of players from Al Hilal and Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr, equalized when the Portugal captain hit a penalty after a foul on PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Although it was only a friendly PSG were reduced to 10 men when Juan Bernat saw red for a foul.
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Marquinhos put PSG back into the lead with a fine finish against Riyadh’s All-Star XI.
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Neymar had a penalty to forget against Riyadh’s All-Star XI, as Mohammed Alowais saved.
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Kylian Mbappe converted from the penalty spot to give PSG the lead.
The French team went ahead again through a goal from center Marquinhos in the corner.
Neymar then had a ground-breaking penalty saved by Mohammed al Owais after he tripped in the area, and Ronaldo made it 2-2 before half-time when he converted the rebound after his header came back off the post.
Sergio Ramos, Ronaldo’s former teammate at Real Madrid, put PSG in front, only for Jang Hyun-soo to equalise.
There was no hat-trick for Ronaldo as the 37-year-old withdrew after the hour mark.
A Kylian Mbappe penalty and a goal from Hugo Ekitike put the visitors two up before Anderson Talisca pulled one back.
What is the point of this match?
Ronaldo and Messi are both targets
Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
“The point of the game is for Saudi Arabia to show Cristiano Ronaldo. Watch some pictures from Riyadh this evening, there are quite a lot of empty seats.
“You have to wonder why Saudi Arabian businessman Mushref Al-Ghamdi paid £2.2m at auction for VIP tickets. There appear to be hundreds if not thousands of empty seats there.
“If you have a season ticket at the King Fahd International Stadium, you are spoiled for choice this week as it hosts Barcelona vs Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup as well as Inter Milan vs AC Milan in the Italian Super Cup.
“PSG paid €8 million to fly to Saudi Arabia to play in the game, and it’s all about the fact that Saudi Arabia wants to host the World Cup in 2030 and Qatar, which owns PSG, wants to host the Olympics in 2036. It’s about money and about showing off power.”
Ronaldo analysis: Heavyweight champion still standing
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a goal
In pain from an injured cheekbone, Ronaldo held firm before scoring from the penalty spot for his first goal in Saudi Arabia against a Paris Saint-Germain side featuring old foe Messi.
Messi had scored early in Thursday’s exhibition game when Ronaldo was sent off boxing match style by PSG goalkeeper Navas after about 30 minutes in Riyadh, a city famous in sports for hosting the 2019 world heavyweight boxing match.
It wasn’t Anthony Joshua, but Navas who caught Ronaldo flush in the face with his arm under a high ball. Both went down like fallen boxers.
Ronaldo made his first appearance since the move
Ronaldo held his head, got back up, yawned as if to test his sore left cheek, and sent Navas, his former Real Madrid teammate, the wrong way.
By the end of the first half, Ronaldo’s cheekbones were apple red, but he was all smiles after scoring his second goal, rebounding when his header came back off the post. Sticking his tongue out, Ronaldo ran off in joy and was caught by his teammates at the corner flag.
When Mbappe checked the condition of Ronaldo’s cheek before the second half, Ronaldo milked the attention of the French World Cup star and pointed to the red mark.
Ronaldo and Messi make a rivalry again
Mbappe smiled at him as if to say ‘you’ll be fine’ and Ronaldo raised his arms like a heavyweight champion in front of 68,000 fans at the King Fahd International Stadium.
Even though his team lost, Ronaldo could be in what could be the final installment of Ronaldo vs Messi, as one of the greatest rivalries in football history restarts at an undisclosed location.
The Portuguese arrived to a standing ovation after the hour mark, followed by Mbappe and Argentina’s World Cup-winning star Messi, who was embraced by his teammate Marcelo Gallardo, who coaches the Saudi Arabia joint team.
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