On the evening of August 6, according to Vietnamese time, Ronaldo scored the opening goal in Al-Nassr’s 3-1 victory over Raja CA in the quarterfinals of the Arab Club Champions Cup. This is the first time since 1995, this team won the right to the semi-finals. Ronaldo himself also rose to the top of the scorer list in the Arab Club Champions Cup with 3 goals. Notably, he had 3 consecutive matches to score in this tournament and became the first player in history to do so.
A very remarkable statistic is that CR7 has scored 157 goals with his non-dominant (left foot) foot. He also has a total of 841 goals in his career and only needs 159 more goals to reach 1,000 goals. Raja Casablanca coach Josef Zinnbauer shared after the game: “We saw Cristiano Ronaldo in the flesh today. He is an extraordinary player.”
Just a few hours after Ronaldo helped Al-Nassr make history, his great rival – Lionel Messi, also quickly “returned” in a way that could not be more impressive. Messi and his Inter Miami teammates entered the match in the 1/8 round of the Leagues Cup 2023 with the opponent FC Dallas . And as usual, the Argentinian star remained at the center of the match.
In the 6th minute, La Pulga opened the scoring with a dangerous cushion from the edge of the penalty area after a pass from good partner Jordi Alba. Then, FC Dallas suddenly scored 3 goals, leading back to Inter Miami, before Cremachi equalized 2-3 in 65 minutes. Difficulties did not stop for Miami when Taylor scored an own goal in the 68th minute. And Messi returned. must stand up to create a miracle to save the team.
The first was a nasty free-kick in the 80th minute that made Dallas’ Farfan awkwardly head his own goal. In the 85th minute, La Pulga drew a beautiful curve from his forte free kick, equalizing 4-4.
And Messi was also the first to step up to take the penalty kick, creating a premise for Inter Miami to win 5-3 in the “gunfight” series. Thanks to Messi’s sublimation, Inter Miami won the right to the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup. And La Pulga is also aiming for the first title with the new team.
Messi personally has created countless impressive milestones since coming to Miami. Accordingly, after only 4 matches, he got 7 goals, 1 assist, 2 goals from free kicks, 4 times was voted the best player of the match. Obviously, Messi’s level is out of reach for the MLS, just like Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League.
These two top superstars, even though they are old, still show their superior qualities and outstanding class. In addition, Ronaldo and Messi have not given up the underground race that has lasted more than a decade. And that is a privilege of football fans.