Cristiano Ronaldo was upstaged by another former Manchester United forward in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday as Al Hilal’s Odion Ighalo scored twice from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win over Al Nassr.

Portugal striker Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr on a lucrative deal last January and scored eight goals in his first five games but he has been unable to sustain that pace.

In Al Nassr’s first game since the departure of coach Rudi Garcia, Ronaldo drew a blank while Ighalo, who had a loan spell at Manchester United in 2020, scored twice to hand Asian champions Al Hilal the win.

Ronaldo was yellow-carded in the 57th minute after he tangled with Gustavo Cuellar and things only got worse from there.

The 38-year-old had a goal disallowed for offside in the 77th minute and after he was awarded a penalty six minutes later the Video Assistant Referee reversed the decision.

Ronaldo was later taunted as he left the field with Al Hilal fans waving Lionel Messi shirts.

Al Nassr interim coach Dinko Jelicic told reporters the game changed when they conceded the first spot kick.

“The first penalty kick broke us, it was influential in the course of the match,” he said. “Al Hilal were better than us in some periods. My team showed good glimpses and could pave the way for the next weeks.”

Al Nassr are three points behind leaders Al Ittihad, who have played a game less.

Franco barb at Barca

Spain’s two biggest clubs have clashed in spectacular fashion, with Real Madrid accusing Barcelona of being the favourites of fascist dictator General Francisco Franco.

The dispute, ignited by a video on Real’s website this week, comes as the pair face enormous financial andgovernance challenges, which has left some wondering ifthe row is a distraction technique.

While Real have been tolerant of Barcelona’s extraordinary debt accumulation, they have criticised their role in a scandal over payments to former referees’ chief Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.

The video published by Real’s in-house media, a de facto voice of the club’s president Florentino Perez, asked: “Who is the real club of the regime?” It featured footage of one of Franco’s ministers attending the opening of the Camp Nou in 1957.

It also chronicled the club making Franco an honorary member in 1965 and emphasized the greater number of domestic trophies won by Barcelona during Franco’s rule.