Benfica and Angel Di Maria destroy Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in pre-season friendly
Benfica and Angel Di Maria destroyed Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, they won the game 4-1 against the Saudi Pro League club in pre-season friendly.
Moreover, this is Al-Nasar’s second defeat in a row, as they also lost to Celta Vigo 5-0 last week. Ronaldo was cheering his team-mates and urging them to push further to turn around their fortunes, but they were unable to match Benfica’s level.
Di Maria scored on his debut for Benfica in the 23rd minute. He skillfully danced through the Al-Nassr defence before executing a trademark lobbed finish to break the deadlock.
Angel Di maria ‘humiliate’ Cristiano Ronaldo with brilliant skill
As the ball bounced before Di Maria, Ronaldo swiftly moved in, eager to reclaim possession from his former teammate. Di Maria lured Ronaldo into his trap, exploiting his skills to outfox the five-time Ballon d’Or winner by lofting the ball over him.
In an attempt to win the ball back Ronaldo committed a foul on Di Maria. Despite not playing the entire match, Di Maria left a big impression in the game. The World Cup winner has returned to his former club after a one year stint with Juventus.
Cristiano Ronaldo also had a 1v1 chance to score against Benfica after he was served with a through-ball from Marcelo Brozovic. The Portuguese found himself with just Benfica goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos to beat. But his audacious chip shot went well over the cross bar.
Benfica destroy Al-Nassr in pre-season
After Di Maria’s goal Benfica didn’t stop there. Goncalo Ramos, who is Ronaldo’s teammate in the Portuguese national team, scored two goals in the first half. The talented Benfica striker also registered a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup against Switzerland.
However, Al-Nassr pulled one back in the first half with the help of Khalid Al-Ghannam. In the second half, Andreas Schjelderup added another goal for Benfica to extend their lead to 4-1.
Despite Ronaldo’s recent comments about the decline in European football quality, Benfica demonstrated their superiority over Al-Nassr, effortlessly outplaying the Saudi Pro League club.
Al-Nassr will hope to return to winning ways when they face Paris Saint-Germain next on Tuesday in Japan.
