Messi, Ronaldo Steal Show In Riyadh Friendly

• As PSG beat Riyadh All-Star XI 5-4 in extra time

It was an occasion where two football greats, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo stole the show scoring goals in their late-career clash that had Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) winning on the night.

Both players, who have won the Ballon d’or crown 12 times between them, found the net in what could be their final meeting, an eventful 5-4 PSG victory over Saudi Pro League All-Stars.

Though Messi scored first in Riyadh, Ronaldo replied with two goals of his own while Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike won it for the Ligue 1 champions.

Clearly, in what many believe could easily be the final battle between two of football’s greatest ever, both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo put on a show in an end-to-end friendly in Riyadh that finished 3-3.

While Messi had already got back down to business following his historic World Cup win in December, the pressure was on rival Ronaldo to make an impact, leading the line for an All-Star XI having signed for Al-Nassr in the weeks prior.

And while this wasn’t exactly a battle for the ages like their plentiful meetings in both La Liga and the Champions League in the years gone by, it was certainly an eventful one and a contest that bookmarks the end of an era, in many ways.

The All-Stars tried their best, but an injury time strike from Anderson Talisca wasn’t enough to cancel out earlier goals from Messi, Marquinhos, Sergio Ramos, Kylian Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike as the game eventually finished 5-4.

Though Messi had the first laugh, Ronaldo won Man of the Match. Scoring from the penalty spot to get himself off the mark, the 37-year-old’s second of the evening was much more impressive. He rattled the post with a sublime header, before reacting first to get on the end of the rebound and bundle it home as he has so often done throughout his career.

Sure, it was only a friendly, but the crowd went wild for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and understandably so. Al-Nassr fans in particular would’ve been delighted with what they saw. The old dog still has some life in him yet.

Keylor Navas was the loser having a night to forget in the Middle East. In what could be his final game for PSG, Navas was nowhere near a cross and clattered into Ronaldo to concede the penalty for the first goal, and looked shaky throughout the rest of the game.

With such nervy performance, it is clear to see why PSG Manager Christophe Galtier has kept faith with Gianluigi Donnarumma as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper this season.

Next on the table for Messi and PSG is to stay focused and quickly turns to their fight for silverware on the domestic scene.

They play in the Coupe de France on Monday before returning to Ligue 1 action, with a heavyweight Champions League last-16 clash with Bayern Munich now less than a month away.

Meanwhile, all eyes in Saudi Arabia will be on Ronaldo’s impending debut for Al-Nassr. Having scored a brace in the friendly against PSG, excitement levels are naturally through the roof. – With Goal.com reports