Cristiano Ronaldo will look to help Al Nassr maintain their unbeaten start to the AFC Champions League Elite when the Saudi side take on Al Gharafa in Qatar on Monday.
Nassr were thrown a lifeline in the domestic Saudi Pro League when Al Hilal suffered a first league defeat in 551 days as Jorge Jesus' side fell to a surprise 3-2 defeat against Al Khaleej on Saturday.
It came 24 hours after Nassr suffered their own setback against promoted Al Qadsiah. Ronaldo scored his seventh goal of the season in Friday's 2-1 defeat that saw him line up opposite Spanish defender Nacho.
The two are former longtime teammates from their years at Real Madrid, but it was Qadsiah who celebrated at the final whistle.
“It was a different and difficult game against Ronaldo,” Nacho said. “He is my friend and I had the best part of my career playing with him but here we have a different experience and are playing for different teams. It was an honour to play against him.”
That defeat looked to have damaged Nassr's title hopes, but Hilal's loss to Khaleej – their first in the league since May 2023 – was compounded by Al Ittihad's 2-0 victory over bottom side Al Fateh, allowing the Jeddah club to leapfrog Hilal into top spot.
It was Hilal's first domestic defeat in 47 matches.
“We knew that the victories would not continue because this is football,” said Hilal forward Marcos Leonardo. “We have to work and achieve victory in the next match in the AFC Champions League Elite.”
Saudi Arabian clubs have yet to lose in the western zone of the Asian competition – the 24 teams in the tournament are divided into two groups of 12 with eight from each progressing to the Round of 16 after playing eight matches – and occupy the top three spots.
Nassr are third with 10 points from four games and will be almost certain of a place in the next round if they can beat Gharafa.
Hilal, Asia's most successful club with four titles, also travel to Qatar to face 2011 winners Al Sadd. Unlike SPL games, Neymar is eligible to play in Asian competitions but the Brazilian is still recovering from the injury sustained against Esteghlal of Iran earlier in November.
Jeddah club Al Ahli are second, also boasting a perfect record of four wins, and face reigning Asian champions Al Ain. The UAE club are bottom of the group and lost 5-4 to Hilal and then 5-1 to Nassr, defeats which cost Hernan Crespo his job as head coach. The Argentine has been replaced by Leonardo Jardim, the Portuguese boss who led Al Hilal to the 2021 continental title.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
Dubai World Cup Carnival Thursday race card
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
