Cristiano Ronaldo berates Saudi team-mates after conceding four goals in 17 minutes

Cristiano Ronaldo berated his Al-Nassr team-mates after being left furious with their second-half collapse against Al-Hilal on Saturday. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner failed to lead his team to victory in the Saudi Super Cup final despite scoring the opening goal of the match.

Ronaldo broke the deadlock with a close-range finish just before the break, giving Al-Nassr the advantage in their efforts to win their first trophy of the season. However, a dramatic collapse in the second half saw them concede four goals in the space of just 17 minutes.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic equalised with a fine finish before Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice in six minutes to put Al-Hilal in full control. Malcom added a fourth goal shortly afterwards, robbing Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento and rounding him before sliding the ball into an empty net.

Ronaldo was left frustrated with the manner of his side’s collapse and made his feelings crystal clear as his team-mates trudged back into their own half. He put his hands together in a ‘sleeping’ gesture before waving his arms around in frustration as he berated his fellow players.

The result saw Al-Hilal lift the Saudi Super Cup for the second year in a row, having beaten Al-Ittihad in last year’s final. Ronaldo and his team-mates will simply need to lick their wounds and regroup before kicking off their league campaign against Al-Raed next week.

It came just days after Ronaldo was left red-faced before scoring his first goal of the season for Al-Nassr in a comfortable victory over Al-Taawoun. He stepped up to take a free kick in a promising position but smashed it over the crossbar, with the opposing goalkeeper not even attempting to save it.

As he stood over the ball, Ronaldo was spotted giving himself a pep talk as he confidently said in Portuguese: “I’m the best.” His motivational words failed to have the desired impact, though, with the ball sailing harmlessly into the stand behind the goal.

Ronaldo went on to redeem himself by tucking home a neat finish to open his account for the new campaign in style. Al-Nassr ended up securing a 3-1 victory to reach the Saudi Super Cup final but their efforts were ultimately in vain thanks to their collapse against Al-Hilal.

The former Manchester United ace scored 44 goals in 45 games last season and will be hoping to enjoy another prolific campaign this time around. He will be equally desperate to lead Al-Nassr to Saudi Pro League glory after narrowly missing out to Al-Hilal at the end of 2023/24.