Cristiano Ronaldo’s Saudi romp is going swimmingly in personal terms, but he probably didn’t expect to be looking up to Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Portugal’s favourite son has scored 15 times to fire himself to the top of the Saudi Pro League net-buster charts but a glance at the league table darkens the mood.
Al-Nassr, the club he signed for on a £175million-per-season deal with ascendant ambitions – catapulting them into the global conversation – are second in the league and seven points off Al-Hilal’s pace.
Not bad at all. Yet the concerning thing for Ronaldo is that whatever he conjures – be it stunning a 40-yard lob or clinical hat-trick – is but a drop in the ocean compared to the all-encompassing domination of Al-Hilal.
Al-Hilal’s form in all competitions makes for some exquisite reading – 15 wins in a row and 23 matches unbeaten in all competitions.
In the last 15 games they’ve treated their fans to 44 goals and have only conceded two. And no, they don’t have Harry Maguire at the back.
All the more staggering is that they’ve been without Neymar, their glitzy £130million-per-season indulgence, for the last 12 games. With their form only picking up after his anterior cruciate ligament injury, you fear for whoever wrote the cheque.
