A Cristiano Ronaldo goal was not enough for Al-Nassr as they were trounced 4-1 by rivals Al-Hilal in the Saudi Arabian Super Cup on Saturday.
Ronaldo struck first in the 2024-25 curtain-raiser, tapping Abdulrahman Ghareeb's cutback home shortly before the interval at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium.
However, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was seen angrily gesticulating at his team-mates as Al-Nassr collapsed in the second half, with Al-Hilal – unbeaten Pro League champions last season – running riot.
Former Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice in six minutes to take the game away from Al-Nassr, after Sergej Milinkovic-Savic capped a driving run with a powerful finish into the roof of the net for 1-1.
Al-Hilal added further gloss to the scoreline through Malcom with 18 minutes to play, the Brazilian stealing possession from goalkeeper Bento to tap into an unguarded net.
Data Debrief: Al-Hilal ruthless, Ronaldo frustrated
Al-Hilal certainly made the most of their chances on Saturday, scoring four times from just nine attempts totalling 1.8 expected goals (xG).
They were solid at the other end, too, limiting Al-Nassr to 0.77 xG and Ronaldo to just two shots – his 44th-minute opener and a wild 93rd-minute attempt when the game was already up.
Ronaldo was seen gesturing that his team-mates were asleep in the aftermath of Al-Hilal's fourth goal, as Bento's loose touch allowed Malcom in to make it a rout.
Rodgers lauds Celtic's 'hunger' after cup triumph over Hibs
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed the hunger of his side after they brushed aside Hibernian on Sunday.
Rodgers' side are into the quarter-finals of the Scottish League Cup after a 3-1 victory at Celtic Park.
Daizen Maeda scored twice in the opening 15 minutes during a one-sided start before Nicolas Kuhn's second-half finish made sure of victory after Mykola Kuharevich's header had the visitors back in the contest.
Celtic will face Falkirk in the next round, where Rodgers will hope his Scottish Premiership champions can replicate Sunday's fine performance.
"I thought we were excellent from the start of the game. We showed our hunger," Rodgers said after the comfortable triumph.
"We said before the game that our playmaker today would be our counter-pressing. It was there and we were winning so many second balls.
"Our only real danger was from throw-ins. They've got guys on either side who can throw it in and add a little bit of pressure and make you fret a little bit.
"We dealt well with that, and their header was a great header. We don't have any complaints. We could maybe have shifted our wall back a bit but we'll learn from that."
This victory came just a week after Celtic had dispatched the same opponents 2-0, their second victory in as many league games to start the season.
The Hoops also hammered Kilmarnock 4-0 in their Scottish Premiership opener, with an away trip to St. Mirren the next test of their title defence.
An Old Firm challenge then awaits as Celtic welcome Rangers on September 1, though Rodgers will be confident of his side's capabilities based on their early showings this term.
Leverkusen director Rolfes confident of Tah stay amid Bayern interest
Bayer Leverkusen managing director Simon Rolfes is confident defender Jonathan Tah will remain at the club amid speculation linking him with Bayern Munich.
Tah played a key role as Bayer won an unbeaten Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2023-24, making 48 appearances in all competitions and contributing to 18 clean sheets.
The centre-back also scored six goals and recorded the highest pass completion rate (96.47%) of any Bundesliga player in his 31 league outings.
However, Tah has now entered the final 12 months of his contract at the BayArena, and with no agreement reached on fresh terms, he has been linked with Bayern.
There have also been suggestions Bayern could wait until the second half of 2024-25 before attempting to agree a free transfer for Tah, but Rolfes is not worried about losing him.
"There is nothing new and nothing that makes me doubt whether Jonathan will stay with us," said Rolfes after Saturday's DFL-Supercup win over Stuttgart.
"He's an important part of the team and emotionally, he's totally connected to every team-mate, the coach and the fans."
Former Leverkusen striker Rudi Voller, who now serves as director of the German national team, also commented on Tah's future on Sunday, telling Sport1 that Bayern's interest had angered the Bundesliga champions.
"There haven't been any intensive talks on this topic for a long time, and that's what's a bit frustrating," Voller said.
"There was an enquiry a while ago, along with an offer, which Bayer Leverkusen logically rejected."
"Leverkusen is a club that doesn't like to let players leave for free. In principle, they would have liked to reach an agreement, but as of now, no agreement has been made."
Paris Saint-Germain seal €50m deal for Rennes midfielder Doue
Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed the arrival of Rennes midfielder Desire Doue for a reported €50m transfer fee.
Doue, who won silver at the Paris Olympics with France, has signed a five-year contract with the 12-time Ligue 1 champions.
The 19-year-old made 43 appearances in all competitions for Julien Stephan's side last season, scoring four goals and adding six assists.
Doue will provide the Parisians with another attacking threat from midfield, with the 31 chances he created last year a total only bettered by Benjamin Bourigeaud (69) in the Rennes squad.
He also completed the most dribbles (64) for the French side, while also outperforming his expected goals (xG) total by 1.62 in Ligue 1.
The teenager becomes PSG's fourth arrival at the Parc des Princes in the transfer window after the signings of Joao Neves, William Pacho and Matvey Safonov.
“I'm delighted to be joining Paris Saint-Germain. I'm really excited, and also happy and proud," Doue told the PSG website.
"It's a dream come true. I can't wait to discover the Parc des Princes in a PSG jersey and to play in front of these fans.
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