Cristiano Ronaldo Nets Another Hat Trick in Saudi Arabia 

Football - Saudi Pro League - Abha v Al-Nassr - Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City, Abha, Saudi Arabia - April 2, 2024 Al-Nassr's Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim celebrates scoring their fifth goal with Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates. (Reuters)
Football - Saudi Pro League - Abha v Al-Nassr - Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City, Abha, Saudi Arabia - April 2, 2024 Al-Nassr's Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim celebrates scoring their fifth goal with Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates. (Reuters)
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Cristiano Ronaldo Nets Another Hat Trick in Saudi Arabia 

Football - Saudi Pro League - Abha v Al-Nassr - Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City, Abha, Saudi Arabia - April 2, 2024 Al-Nassr's Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim celebrates scoring their fifth goal with Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates. (Reuters)
Football - Saudi Pro League - Abha v Al-Nassr - Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City, Abha, Saudi Arabia - April 2, 2024 Al-Nassr's Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim celebrates scoring their fifth goal with Cristiano Ronaldo and teammates. (Reuters)

Cristiano Ronaldo notched his second hat trick in the space of 72 hours as Al-Nassr routed Abha 8-0 in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday.

The five-time Ballon D’Or winner scored three goals and recorded two assists in the first half for the nine-time Saudi Arabian champions.

The hat trick was his third of the league season following his treble in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Al-Tai. The Portugal star leads the league with 29 goals.

Ronaldo’s first two goals Tuesday came from free-kicks. With 11 minutes on the clock, he opened the scoring with a low shot from a central position just outside the area. The second came 10 minutes later when he curled the ball around the wall from the left side.

Ronaldo then assisted Sadio Mané for Al-Nassr’s third just after the half-hour, pulling the ball back from the left for the former Liverpool forward to score.

Three minutes before the break, Ronaldo then completed the hat trick with a beautiful chip from outside the area as he ran toward goal. There was still enough time in the first half for Ronaldo to slip the ball to his right for Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim to score into an open goal from close range.

The star was taken off at the break though Al-Nassr continued to find the target. Saudi Arabian international Abdulrahman Ghareeb added a sixth soon after the restart and substitute Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa scored two more.

Despite the win, Al-Nassr is still in second, 12 points behind runaway leader Al-Hilal with eight games remaining.

Al-Hilal announced earlier in the day that striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, second behind Ronaldo with 22 goals, is likely to miss the rest of the season through injury.



Al-Zaidi Crowned Champion of Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation Endurance Cup

Al-Zaidi completed the race at an average speed of 22.66 km/h - SPA
Al-Zaidi completed the race at an average speed of 22.66 km/h - SPA
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Al-Zaidi Crowned Champion of Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation Endurance Cup

Al-Zaidi completed the race at an average speed of 22.66 km/h - SPA
Al-Zaidi completed the race at an average speed of 22.66 km/h - SPA

Executive Director of the Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation Fouad bin Fahd Ibrahim crowned Saudi rider Abdullah Al-Zaidi as the champion of the 120 km Saudi Arabian Equestrian Federation Endurance Cup, held in AlUla.

The event was organized by the Royal Commission for AlUla in partnership with the federation.

Al-Zaidi completed the race at an average speed of 22.66 km/h, SPA reported.
The competition featured intense rivalry among riders across its four stages.

In addition to the main event, the program included several associated races, such as an international 140 km race, an international 100 km race, and two local qualifying races of 40 km and 80 km.