Ronaldo and Duran lose again… as Toney hat-trick shocks Al Hilal

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Cristiano Ronaldo missed a golden chance as third-placed Al-Nassr dropped points for the ninth time in 23 Saudi Pro League games this seasonand suffered a fourth defeat by losing to an Al-Orobah side who started the evening 24 points below them.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo could have made the scoreline 2-1 but slashed wide with only the goalkeeper to beat early in the second half as his side failed to capitalise on second-placed Al-Hilal losing 3-2 at home to Al-Ahli, for whom former Brentford striker Ivan Toney scored a second-half hat-trick.

Veteran Syria forward Omar Al Somah showed why he is the Saudi top flight’s all-time top scorer with his 149th goal in the competition to put Al-Orobah ahead in the 40th minute at Sakaka’s Al-Jouf University Stadium, finding the far corner of the net with an angled drive from inside the penalty area.

Al-Nassr right-back Nawaf Boushal completed a rapid move by coolly slotting in the equaliser six minutes after the restart, but ex-Burnley and Charlton midfielder Johann Gudmundsson’s long-range strike settled the contest in style in the 65th minute.

Al Orobah vs Al Nassr

Leaders Al-Ittihad, who host relegation-threatened Al-Akhdoud on Sunday (7pm GMT), will have enjoyed watching Friday’s proceedings, which included Al-Orobah beating Al-Nassr for the first time in their history.

2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema’s team have a game in hand, a five-point lead over Al-Hilal and a nine-point advantage over Al-Nassr and Al-Ahli.

England forward Toney joined Al-Ahli for a reported £40 million from the Bees in August, and his new team are now only below Al-Nassr on goals scored.

After Toney scored twice inside seven minutes to make it 2-0, the reigning champions drew level through goals by Salem Aldawsari and Marcos Leonardo – only to concede an 87th-minute winner.

Cristiano Ronaldo stats

Ronaldo has netted once in his last four league games but is still the top scorer in the division with 17 goals, followed by Benzema on 16.

The 40-year-old collected the league’s goal of the week award before kick-off for his effort in a 2-0 win at Al-Wehda on Tuesday and came closest to drawing Al-Nassr level again with an exquisite late free-kick.

Jhon Duran – a £65m January signing from Aston Villa – started in attack alongside Ronaldo, while two-time African Footballer of the Year Sadio Mane was not in their matchday squad.

Al-Nassr are next in action when they visit Iranian opponents Esteghlal in the first leg of the AFC Champions League round of 16 on Monday (4pm).




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