French giants Paris Saint-Germain, featuring 2022 World Cup-winner Lionel Messi, secured a 5-4 win against Cristiano Ronaldo-led Riyadh All-Stars XI in an unprecedented friendly, here at King Fahd International Stadium on Thursday, 19 January.
Enjoying the form of his life after conquering the world with his nation, Argentina, Messi opened the scoring in the third minute of the match. However, it took only three minutes for the spotlight to shift from one magician to another, as Ronaldo had his first attempt of the game, albeit it was saved by the Parisiens’ goalkeeper.
Barring the two biggest football legends of this era, many other renowned players in the likes of Brazil’s Neymar and France’s Kylian Mbappe were in action.
The former almost got his name on the scoresheet in the 16th minute, but his attempt was saved as well.
Owing to their incredible squad, the visitors looked livelier and more convincing of the two sides, but Riyadh had the chance of drawing level when Ronaldo was fouled inside the box just after the half-hour mark. Up against his former Real Madrid teammate, Keylor Navas, the Portuguese icon made no mistake in firing his shot into the net.
The lead, however, did not last long, with Ronaldo scoring a brace seconds before half-time. After his header ricocheted off the crossbar, the 38-year-old struck a left-footed volley to restore parity in the game – for the second time on the night.
Another former Los Blancos legend and former teammate of Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos then put PSG ahead in the 55th minute, with wonderkid Mbappe getting an assist to his name. However, following the same pattern, Riyadh equalised for the third time, with Jang Hyun-Soo opening his tally on this occasion.
Kylian Mbappe Joins the Party
The game ebbed and flowed, and continued flowing, as it took PSG all but four minutes to establish their superiority once again, with Mbappe adding his name to the scoresheet from a penalty in the 60th minute.
After seven goals and a frantic hour of enthralling football, the state of play finally switched gears before the introduction of fresh legs injected more pace into the match. One such substitute, young French striker Hugo Eketike scored in the 80th minute to make the scoreline 5-3.
While the hosts were already out of the hunt, they did manage to reduce the deficit through a consolation goal, as Talisca scored the ninth goal of the match in the 94th minute.
Football's Big Stars Meet 'Big B'
Prior to kick-off, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan met both sets of players. The 80-year-old, who was among the chief dignitaries to be invited for the special occasion, was seen shaking hands with both sets of players.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)