WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo reacts as Al Hilal fans chant Lionel Messi's name in Al-Nassr's 3-0 defeat in Riyadh derby
Al-Nassr attacker Cristiano Ronaldo reacted as Al-Hilal fans chanted the name of his arch-rival Lionel Messi in the 3-0 defeat in the Saudi Pro League on Friday (December 1).
The top-of-the-table clash turned out to be a rather lopsided affair, as Al-Hilal opened up a seven-point lead at the top with a comprehensive win over their Riyadh-based rivals.
It was all square till the 64th minute when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic broke the deadlock. The game was heading for a tense finish when Aleksandar Mitrovic made sure of the result with a quickfire brace late on. The loss snapped Al-Nassr's 12-game unbeaten league run since losing their opening two games.
Al-Alami captain Ronaldo had a forgettable outing and was even subjected to Messi chants at half-time. The Portugal captain reacted by blowing kisses to the crowd as he walked back into the tunnel.
Here's the video:
Al-Nassr thought they pulled one back through a Ronaldo assist, but the effort was ruled out for offside. The evening turned sour for Luis Castro's men, as defender Ali Al-Bulayhi saw red.
Following the loss, Al-Alami (34) are seven points behind leaders Al-Hilal after 15 games. They travel to Istiklol for their final AFC Champions League group game on Tuesday (December 5), having qualified for the knockouts, before returning to league action against Al-Riyadh three days later.
How has Cristiano Ronaldo fared for Al-Nassr this season?
Cristiano Ronaldo has had a memorable first full season with Saudi Pro League giants Al-Nassr, whom he joined in December last year. Ageing like fine wine, the 38-year-old has turned back the years with a series of sumptuous displays.
Although he drew a blank in the Al-Hilal defeat, Ronaldo has had a superb campaign, bagging 18 goals and nine assists in 20 games across competitions. That includes league-leading tallies of 15 goals and seven assists in 14 games.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is two clear of Alexander Mitrovic in the scoring charts and is joint-level with Al-Ahli's Riyad Mahrez and Al-Fateh's Mourad Batna in the assists leaderboard.