Al Nassr went top of the Saudi Pro League after Cristiano Ronaldo set up both of their goals in a 2-1 win over Al Taawoun.
It was confirmed this week that the Saudi champions will feature in the Club World Cup later this year as the host nation representative.
Ronaldo will surely be desperate to feature in FIFA's flagship club competition and the five-time Ballon d'Or winner followed up his four-goal showing against Al Wehda with another match-winning turn on Friday.
Having teed up Abdulrahman Ghareeb's 17th-minute opener, Ronaldo supplied his second assist of the game to set up Abdullah Madu for Al Nassr's winner with 12 minutes of normal time remaining.
Ronaldo's first assist was a wonderful, first-time, sweeping pass into the path of Ghareeb, who still had work to do to shrug off his marker and beat Al Taawoun's goalkeeper.
The 38-year-old Ronaldo might not have known too much about his touch for the winner as he, perhaps unintentionally, cushioned a team-mate's shot back for Madu to drill into a gaping net, with the VAR awarding the goal after Ronaldo was initially flagged for offside.
The victory took Al Nassr back above Al Ittihad on goal difference.
"Top of the league and three important points," Ronaldo tweeted after the match. "Great team work!"
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life after Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Brentford 3-1 Southampton: Bees begin life without Toney with comfortable win
Brentford began life without Ivan Toney with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Southampton.
Bryan Mbeumo’s brace and a Yoane Wissa goal proved to be the difference between the two sides and condemned the Saints to their third straight loss since promotion back to the Premier League.
With departed striker Toney watching in the stands after his move to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, the hosts proved too strong for Russell Martin’s men. They created the superior chances and capitalised on an error-strewn performance from Southampton’s backline.
Mbeumo opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time before doubling the lead halfway through the second period and Wissa then got on the scoresheet moments later to continue Brentford’s strong start to the campaign. Yukinari Sugawara bagged a consolation in injury time for the Saints.
Brentford sit in fifth place ahead of the first international break, while Southampton are second-bottom of the league table with zero points.
Data debrief: Wissa continues to prove effective at home
Wissa now has five goals and two assists in his last seven matches at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Brentford have recorded consecutive home league wins for the first time since last November, and the first time in their opening home games since August 2018.
Ronaldo retains Portugal place ahead of Nations League openers
Cristiano Ronaldo has retained his place in the Portugal squad for their opening 2024-25 Nations League fixtures versus Croatia and Scotland.
Ronaldo is both Portugal's most-capped player and their leading all-time goalscorer, netting 130 goals in 212 senior caps, with both of those figures also being records for any nation in men's international football.
However, the 39-year-old's international future was called into question in the aftermath of Euro 2024, where the Selecao reached the last eight in unconvincing fashion before losing to France in a penalty shoot-out.
Ronaldo endured a miserable tournament, failing to score from 23 shots with a total expected goals (xG) value of 3.6.
Only Kylian Mbappe (24) attempted more shots at goal at the tournament, while only Germany's Kai Havertz – who scored twice – posted a higher xG figure (4.12).
However, Ronaldo will continue to lead Portugal next month as they begin the next international cycle, potentially with an eye on appearing at his 12th major tournament at the 2026 World Cup.
Boss Roberto Martinez told reporters of Ronaldo's inclusion: "All players after the age of 30 have to face their career step by step, but Ronaldo's level is unique.
"Playing at the level he is playing, having the physical data he has... It's incredible. Individual goals are part of the players' careers, for us the goals are collective.
"Cristiano gave everything at the European Championship, we all gave everything, but we have to look ahead. Cristiano is important now for the national team, but no one can talk about the future."
Full Portugal squad: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolves), Rui Silva (Real Betis), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Renato Veiga (Chelsea), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP), Tiago Santos (Lille), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Nelson Semedo (Wolves), Joao Palhinha (Bayern Munich), Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Joao Felix (Chelsea), Francisco Trincao (Sporting CP), Pedro Goncalves (Sporting CP), Rafael Leao (Milan), Geovany Quenda (Sporting CP), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool).
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
