A clutch performance from Cristiano Ronaldo in the Arab Club Championship Cup 2023 helped Al Nassr win the trophy for the first time. Ronaldo has helped the team win their first important trophy since he joined the club, defeating Al Hilal in spite of going down to nine men over the course of the game.

The match had to be decided in extra time, with the scores ending level at the end of 90 minutes. Two Al Nassr players, Abdulelah Al-Amri and Nawaf Boushal were shown a red card on either side of Ronaldo’s goal in the second half.

Al Nassr win Arab Club Championship Cup 2023 with Cristiano Ronaldo brace

Al Nassr Arab Club Championship Cup 2023 — Via Al Nassr’s Twitter

Al Hilal took the lead through Brazil’s Michael, before his goal was equalised by Ronaldo. Al Nassr had to defend resolutely after having a significant disadvantage numerically.

In spite of his performance in the final, Cristiano Ronaldo was not named the man of the match. The Portuguese appeared quite stunned when the award went to Al Hilal midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The Portuguese footballer was seen pointing up two fingers to the organisers, referring to his two goals in the final.

However, he broke the record for the most headed goals at 145 and walked away with the Arab Club Championship Cup 2023 trophy. He had to be taken off with five minutes to play due to an injury, but it wasn’t anything serious as he was seen jumping around during the celebrations.

Al Hilal will be hoping for a turnaround of their fortune, after reports that they are set to sign Neymar this week. The Brazilian will join Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly as the new players to have signed from Europe.