Footage shows Cristiano Ronaldo’s unfazed reaction to furious Al-Hilal player in his face as Al Nassr teammate Sadio Mane laughs
Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane could only laugh as a rival player’s attempts at intimidation hilariously fell flat during Friday’s huge Saudi showdown between Al Nassr and Al-Hilal.
It was a night to forget for Ronaldo’s side as they suffered a damaging defeat to their title hopes, with the Portuguese star furious after having a wondergoal ruled out, but he was able to see the funny side in one moment during the game as tempers flared.
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Al-Hilal defender Ali Al-Bulaihi reacted furiously towards the former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar, getting in his face, barking and angrily shaking his head towards him.
But his attempts at intimidation did not go to plan.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner just stood there, taking abuse from a player who has never played outside Saudi Arabia with a smirk and cupping his hand to his ear, mocking his rival.
Ronaldo’s new best mate Mane also joined in, laughing and sarcastically applauding Al-Bulaihi, who then stomped away.
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Another video clip showed Ronaldo taking the mick out of the defender later in the game when he fell over, with Al-Bulaihi walking off sheepishly.
To be fair to CR7, he did well to keep his cool and brush off the heated moment during a game filled with frustration from an Al Nassr point of view.
The PIF-owned club had several penalty shouts waved away and Ronaldo also had potentially the best goal of his career in Saudi Arabia ruled out for a marginal offside call.
Ronaldo was incensed with the decision to chalk off his thumping first-time volley from Mane’s cross - although his sarcastic thumbs-up to officials might have made it seem otherwise.
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His manager Luis Castro could also be seen on the sidelines showing the assistant referee a replay of the goal on his phone in protest.
The boss later said after the match that they 'needed another VAR room to check the VAR of the game'.
But the goal did not stand, and Al-Hilal stretched their lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League to seven points with a 3-0 home victory after a chaotic finish to the match.
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After several missed chances from both sides, former Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic finally broke the deadlock in the second-half.
Ronaldo then looked to have equalised with his stunner, but was left sarcastically raising a thumb to the officials when it was ruled out, before ex-Fulham striker Aleksander Mitrovic scored two late goals to seal the result.
Al-Hilal also ended the match with ten men, but they won't mind about that much with the club now seven points clear of Ronaldo's Al Nassr at the top of the Saudi Pro League table.
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