Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off late on as his side lost 2-1 to city rivals Al Hilal in their Saudi Super Cup semifinal after a heated clash in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Portugal‘s record scorer was shown a straight red card four minutes from time for elbowing an opponent when his side was down 2-0 before they scored a late consolation.
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After receiving his red card, Ronaldo appeared on video to raise his fist in a punching gesture toward the official, who had already turned his back on the 39-year-old.
The Super Cup exit makes it more likely that Ronaldo will remain without a trophy since making his big-money move to Saudi Arabia at the beginning of 2023. Al Nassr are out of the domestic cup and the Asian Champions League and sit 12 points behind leaders Al Hilal with seven games left in the season.
Jorge Jesus’ Al Hilal opened the scoring in the 62nd minute when Salem Al-Dawsari slotted the ball into the bottom right corner from a Sergej Milinkovic-Savic flick after a quick break.
Brazilian forward Malcom doubled the lead in the 72nd with a fine header after Michael’s long cross from the right found his compatriot unmarked in the centre of the box.
Former Liverpool forward Sadio Mané got Al Nassr on the scoresheet in stoppage time off Abdulrahman Ghareeb‘s pass.
Al Hilal will seek a record-extending fourth title in Thursday’s final when they face Karim Benzema‘s Al Ittihad, who beat Al Wehda 2-1 in the earlier semifinal on Monday.
Information from Reuters was used in this story.