PARIS: Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a brace on his return from suspension for Real Madrid, as Tottenham Hotspur ended their Wembley jinx and Liverpool were held on their Champions League comeback on Wednesday.
Real have sorely missed their Portuguese superstar as he serves a five-match domestic ban for pushing a re-feree.
But he wasted no time in making his towering presence felt against APOEL Nicosia, scoring after just 12 minutes from Gareth Bale’s low cross, and then doubling his tally from the penalty spot before Sergio Ramos’s overhead kick rounded off the cozy 3-0 win.
Ronaldo has now struck 12 times in his last six Champions League games.
“He is the best in the world. We know he will always score goals,” said Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.
“With a bit more luck today he could have scored four. Cristiano has so many goals in him and we feel it.”
“Hopefully he stays in form. You can't question the levels he reaches every year,” added Ramos.
The titleholders top Group H with Tottenham, who ended their woeful Wembley run with an impressive Harry Kane-inspired 3-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.
Already scarred by damaging Wembley defeats in the Champions League and FA Cup semifinals last term, Tottenham had lost to Chelsea and drawn with Burnley this season, sparking alarmist talk that they were jinxed at the hallowed north London venue.
But, after losing eight of their previous 12 matches at Wembley, Kane’s predatory finishing ensured Tottenham finally enjoyed a night to remember in their temporary lodgings.
Son Heung-Min’s first goal of the season put Tottenham ahead early on with Andriy Yarmolenko conjuring a sublime equalizer.
Kane, who scored twice in Saturday’s win at Everton, restored Tottenham's advantage before the interval and wrapped up the victory with his second goal after halftime.
The only blemish for Spurs was a late sending off for a second bookable offence for Jan Vertonghen, who swung his forearm into Mario Gotze’s face.
“It was so important to win, we are so happy. We increased our level in the second half and were very clinical,” Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said.
“It is more than three points. The team is more mature now. Harry Kane was fantastic.”
At Anfield, Roberto Firmino’s first-half penalty miss proved costly for Liverpool as Joaquin Correa scored a dramatic equaliser to grab Sevilla a 2-2 draw.
Anfield was in jubilant mood as the English club welcomed back Champions League football after a two-year absence, but it took Sevilla just four minutes to dampen the enthusiasm.
After Wissam Ben Yedder had given the Spanish side an early lead, goals from Firmino and Mohamed Salah put Liverpool ahead, only for Firmino to miss a penalty.
On the hour, Sevilla manager Eduardo Berizzo was dismissed for throwing the ball away from Liverpool's Joe Gomez as he tried to take a throw-in, but his disappointment was eased, thanks to Correa, on 72 minutes.
“Of course I’m not happy with the result but I’m happy with a big part of the game,” said Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
“A lot of times when good teams play each other, the games are kind of boring, but this game was the opposite. And that was due to the desire, the passion, the greed of my team.”
Liverpool and Sevilla were joined on one point in Group E by Spartak Moscow and Maribor, who drew 1-1 in Slovenia.
Manchester City ran out the biggest winners of the night with a 4-0 rout of Feyenoord in Rotterdam courtesy of goals from Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus and John Stones’ double.
City coach Pep Guardiola commented: “We did not play back... We were aggressive... We had the legs to run on the side, especially on the right and created the chances. Enough to win the game comfortably.”
Shakhtar Donetsk beat Napoli 2-1 to share the summit in Group F.
French champions Monaco were held 1-1 at competition newcomers RB Leipzig in Germany as Besiktas topped Group G with a 3-1 win at Porto.
Ronaldo back in style for Real; Spurs end Wembley jinx
Ronaldo back in style for Real; Spurs end Wembley jinx
Al-Hilal’s woes continue as Blues drop points against Al-Taawoun
- Two penalties saw the game at Wolves Park end 1-1 between Al-Hilal and Al-Taawoun
- Simone Inzaghi’s side drop to third place, one point behind Al-Ahli in first and level with Al-Nassr, who play on Wednesday
DAMMAM: As we head into the final third of the 2025/26 Saudi Pro League campaign, it’s looking more likely that the deciding factor won’t be team finances, star signings or managerial strategies. Ultimately, it will all boil down to the referees.
With the delayed Matchday 10 now fully underway, Al-Hilal made the short trip to Qassim to face one of the season’s early dark horses, Al-Taawoun. Under Péricles Chamusca, who returned for his second stint at the club last summer, they’ve firmly positioned themselves as an upper mid-table side in the league.
After dropping points to 10-man Al-Ittihad last weekend, Al-Hilal returned to their position in the first half of the season: chasing Al-Nassr. While just one point behind their city rivals, Al-Hilal have a more difficult set of games in the upcoming period. Al-Nassr face Al-Najma on Wednesday, a side which have won just once in 22 games this season and sit dead last.
Al-Hilal weren’t helped by the fact that Karim Benzema was unavailable for this game. Out for a several matches, according to L'Équipe, with an adductor injury, Simone Inzaghi decided to use Marcos Leonardo.
Frozen out of team training after expressing his disdain at the club’s decision to not include him in the league squad as a regular player, the Brazilian’s return to the starting XI highlighted just how fragile the current squad rules are. On one day, you can be out of the club. A knock to an important player means you’re back in.
It was a game to forget for Marcos Leonardo, however. Besides seemingly being pulled down in the box by Mailson in first-half stoppage time, he barely threatened his countryman’s goal. The referee decided not to award a penalty.
Had he awarded that penalty, it would have been the third in nine minutes. In the 36th minute, Théo Hernández put his foot out to grab a ball in front of Mohammed Mahzari. The Frenchman was brought down in the process, leading to a VAR review.
Al-Hilal won the penalty, and Rúben Neves coolly converted to open the scoring. The video of the VAR decision quickly made the rounds on social media, with fans especially incensed after decisions that allegedly went in favour of Al-Ahli on Monday. Their opponents on the day, Damac, released an official statement citing their disdain at the refereeing decisions which they felt led to their defeat.
The penalty decisions wouldn’t stop at Hernández’s fall. Four minutes later, a Roger Martinez free-kick looked like it was on its way to goal, only for Sergej Milinković-Savić’s arm to block the ball’s trajectory. Another VAR review followed, with another penalty given. Martinez slotted it home to equalise before half-time.
Usually, Al-Hilal would deal with challenging opposition like Al-Taawoun by upping the tempo after the interval. This occasion was different. Al-Hilal looked out of sorts. They were positionally weak and lacked a decisive touch. They created chances, but this was not the Blues at their strongest.
Al-Taawoun deserve their fair share of praise. Chamusca’s traditional 5-4-1 saw greater freedom in the press, with a slower build-up preferred as opposed to previous outings. When pressed back, though, it quickly formed into a compact shape of at least nine players blocking key central areas.
Whereas in the game against Al-Okhdood — the evening where Benzema netted a debut hat-trick — the visitors were much better at breaking down the opposition block’s compactness. This time, Al-Taawoun would not grant the same level of freedom.
In stoppage time, Al-Hilal missed a golden chance that they may come to regret at the end of the season. Leonardo was released in space down the right and delivered a cross to Salem Al-Dawsari, who seemed set for a clear strik at goal. The ball flew past him as the game ended 1-1, adding further worry to Al-Hilal’s title challenge.
Elsewhere, Al-Ittihad and Al-Hazem played out a 1-1 draw in a game that saw Sérgio Conceição’s side struggle to take control. Muhannad Al-Shanqiti, who started on the bench, came on at half-time and changed the game — for better and for worse.
In the 80th minute, he broke into the opposition half and delivered a cross to Roger Fernandes, who unleashed a shot from outside of the box to score the opener. Four minutes later, he was beaten by Nawaf Al-Habashi on the counter, as he released Abdulaziz Al-Dhuwayhi to finish past Predrag Rajković.
Meanwhile, Ramiro Enrique continued his stellar season for Al-Kholood by scoring a brace against Al-Khaleej to increase his tally to 13 goals for the campaign. His goals were sandwiched between an early Paolo Fernandes strike in the second minute and an 87th-minute equaliser from Saleh Al-Amri to finish 2-2.
Matchday 10 concludes on Wednesday, with Al-Fayha welcoming NEOM and Al-Najma hosting Al-Nassr at 10:00pm.
