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Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al-Nassr suffered a 2-1 loss to Saudi Pro League toppers Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final on Monday night as the Portuguese superstar was sent off last in the second half. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was sent off after elbowing Al-Hilal defender Ali Al-Bulayhi, however, a furious Ronaldo appeared to raise his fist towards the referee after he showed the Al-Nassr star a straight red card.
The high-voltage match in Abu Dhabi saw a goalless first half followed by Al-Hilal midfielder Salem Aldawsari opening the scoring just over the one-hour mark. After 11 minutes, Brazilian forward Malcom doubled the lead for Jorge Jesus' side. With four minutes remaining in the game, Ronaldo was shown a red card for his physical misconduct.
In the ending moments of the first half, Ronaldo argued with the referee over a disallowed goal due to the Al-Nassr superstar in the offside position. Later in the second half, the referee showed a red card to Portugal's record goal scorer for elbowing an opponent. The 39-year-old Ronaldo, who was enraged with the decision, appeared to raise his fist towards the referee in a viral video on social media.
Watch the video here:
Cristiano Ronaldo sent off for elbowing Al-Hilal's Ali Al-Bulayhi
After receiving a yellow card in the first half following an argument with the referee, Ronaldo was involved in a heated altercation with Al-Hilal defender Al-Bulayhi. The Portuguese superstar appeared to elbow the 34-year-old Saudi defender as the referee showed Ronaldo a red card.
Watch the video here:
With this win against Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal will look to extend their Saudi Super Cup championships record to four titles as they are scheduled to face Karim Benzema's Al-Ittihad, who defeated Al-Wehda 2-1 in another semi-final, on Thursday, April 11.
