- Al Nassr beaten 5-0 by Celta Vigo
- Ronaldo played for 45 minutes
- Brozovic made his Al-Nassr debut
WHAT HAPPENED? After a goalless first half, the floodgates opened as the Saudi Pro League side were demolished 5-0 on Monday night by Celta Vigo in Faro. Gael Alonso made the breakthrough in the 57th minute before Miguel Rodriguez and Jorgen Strand Larsen scored braces to inflict a five-goal humiliation. Ronaldo played the first half while Marcelo Brozovic, who recently joined Al-Nassr from Inter, was taken off after 54 minutes, right before the onslaught.
Ronaldo got into goal-scoring positions a couple of times but failed to make the most of the opportunities. However, a one-touch shoulder pass from the Portuguese while receiving a cross-field ball from Brozovic was simply spectacular.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The gulf in quality between Al-Nassr and Celta Vigo, who finished 13th in La Liga last season, became evident in the second half. The Knights of Najd have been barred from registering new players by FIFA for failing to pay add-ons to Leicester for Ahmed Musa in 2018 and hence they have to make do with the current crop of players until the dispute is resolved.
WHAT NEXT? Ronaldo will hope to get on the scoresheet when Al-Nassr play Benfica next on Thursday in their second pre-season friendly.