Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi both on target in Saudi Arabia friendly
- Planet Sport writer
- 19 January 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his first goals on Saudi Arabian soil when bagging a brace for a Riyadh All Stars team against Paris St Germain in a club friendly.
Lionel Messi was also on target as the sides shared nine goals as PSG ran out 5-4 winners in the exhibition match at the King Fahd Stadium in Riyadh.
Argentina World Cup-winner Messi opened the scoring from Neymar's pass with only two minutes on the clock.
The All Stars, made up of players from Al Hilal and Ronaldo's new club Al Nassr, equalised when the Portugal captain crashed in a penalty after he was fouled by PSG keeper Keylor Navas.
Despite it only being a friendly PSG were reduced to 10 men when Juan Bernat saw red for a foul.
The French side went ahead again through a goal from centre-half Marquinhos at a corner.
Neymar then had a weak penalty saved by Mohammed al Owais after he was tripped in the area, and Ronaldo made it 2-2 before half-time when he converted the rebound after his header came back off a post.
Ronaldo's former Real Madrid team-mate Sergio Ramos put PSG back in front, only for Jang Hyun-soo to equalise.
There was to be no hat-trick for Ronaldo with the 37-year-old withdrawn after an hour.
A Kylian Mbappe penalty and a goal from Hugo Ekitike put the visitors two ahead before Anderson Talisca pulled one back.
