WATCH: Real Madrid legends Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo reunite on the field after 6 years
Ronaldo and Benzema last played against each other in 2008!
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Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema finally played against each other after 15 years. (Image via X/SPL)
Real Madrid legends, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo finally faced each other off in the Roshn Saudi Pro League. Karim Benzema recently joined Al-Ittihad in the summer, while Ronaldo has been a part of Al-Nassr since the January transfer window of 2023.
The two joined Real Madrid in 2009 and have scored a combined 804 goals for Los Blancos. They were part of the Madrid side that won the Champions League three times consecutively, from 2015/16 to 2017/18. They also won La Liga twice together but missed out on Trebles twice in 2014 and 2017.
In a video that just surfaced, Benzema and Ronaldo embraced each other before kick-off in the dugout. They had a small chat as well, before stepping out into the field to face each other. This was the first time the two had faced each other after 15 years when Ronaldo was still at Manchester United and Benzema was at Lyon.
The match between the two sides was a high-scoring match, with 7 goals scored in the 90 minutes. Abderrazzak Hamdallah opened the scoring in the 14th minute before Ronaldo equalized in the 19th minute thanks to a penalty given by Benzema. Talisca gave Al-Nassr the lead in the 38th minute, but Hamdallah equalized just minutes after halftime.
Things started to go downhill for Al-Ittihad in the 68th minute when Fabinho received his 2nd yellow and was sent off. He had also conceded a penalty, which Ronaldo converted into Al-Nassr’s 3rd goal. In the next 14 minutes, Sadio Mane scored 2 goals, leading to Al-Nassr winning the match 2-5. Al-Nassr stays at 2nd, 7 points behind Al-Hilal, meanwhile, Al-Ittihad are stuck at 6th place.
Karim Benzema’s life in Saudi Arabia so far
After winning just the Copa del Rey in 2022/23, Karim Benzema decided to leave European football and signed for Al-Ittihad. He found his shooting shoes right away, with the Frenchman scoring in his 3rd game.
He was made the captain of the side and has since then scored 12 goals in 20 matches, with a hattrick against Abha Club.
Ronaldo on the other side, has 23 goals in 24 appearances. He recently scored 2 against Al-Nassr in a 5-2 win. He has scored 37 goals in 43 appearances for the club, and as of now is the top scorer of the Saudi Pro League.
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Dhruv Kulkarni
(1120 Articles Published)