Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a brace and Lionel Messi scored a goal as Paris Saint-Germain defeated Riyadh All-Star XI 5-4 in the Riyadh Season Cup.
In the latest chapter of the Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi duel, both the footballing icons entertained the crowd in Riyadh.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has joined Al-Nassr on a two-and-a-half-year contract, made his debut in Saudi Arabia with the match against Paris Saint-Germain.
The audience got the opportunity to witness Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi as both players started for their respective sides in the match. And it was Lionel Messi who scored the first goal of the game as the Argentine sent PSG ahead three minutes into the game. Neymar, another footballing icon, assisted the goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Messi opens scoring, CR7 registers two goals for Riyadh All-Star XI
Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Cristiano Ronaldo then added his name to the scoresheet as he converted a penalty in the 34th minute of the match. Ronaldo himself won the penalty after Keylor Navas fouled the Portuguese superstar inside the penalty box.
Cristiano Ronaldo made no mistake from the spot and wheeled away in celebration as Riyadh All-Star XI restored the parity. Lionel Messi sending PSG ahead and then Cristiano Ronaldo equalizing. It was indeed Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi!
PSG were reduced to 10 men in the 39th minute after Juan Bernat received a red card for committing a foul to stop a Riyadh All-Star XI counter-attack.
PSG again the took the lead on the stroke of half-time as Marquinhos put the ball in the net in the 43rd minute of the match. However, it did not take Riyadh All-Star XI much time to score the equalizer.
Ronaldo scored his second goal of the match in the 45+6th minute, firing home from close range. Prior to the goal, the Portuguese superstar saw his header hit the upright. Sergio Ramos failed to clear the rebound and then Ronaldo pounced to make it 2-2.
Sergio Ramos made amends for that mistake in the 53rd minute of the match as the Spaniard added his name to the scoresheet to send PSG ahead again. Jang Hyun-soo, however, restored parity for Riyadh All-Star XI in the 56rd minute with a header from a corner delivery.
Kylian Mbappe then sent Paris Saint-Germain ahead in the 60th minute of the game from the spot. The Frenchman converted the penalty awarded to them after Riyadh All-Star XI handled Lionel Messi’s shot inside the box.
Hugo Ekitike would make it 5-3 for PSG in the 78th minute of the match as the French heavyweights established a two-goal cushion. Talisca then scored in the 90+4th minute to reduce Riyadh All-Star XI’s deficit to just one goal.
