Cristiano Ronaldo is still waiting for his first domestic trophy in Saudi Arabia after Al Nassr lost 4-1 to Al Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup on Saturday.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored the first goal just before half-time in the season-opening match between Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal and runners-up Al Nassr.

However, the 39-year-old striker looked frustrated after Al Hilal scored four times in 17 minutes of the second half.

Ronaldo, who joined Al Nassr in December 2022 and set a league record with 35 goals last season, scored from close range in the 44th minute after being assisted by Abdulrahman Ghareeb.

But the second half was all one-sided and Al Hilal’s Serbian duo made the difference. Ten minutes after the restart, midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic struck first after exchanging passes with Aleksandar Mitrovic and firing a powerful shot into Al Nassr’s goal.

Al Hilal took the lead eight minutes later when Mitrovic rose to head in a perfect cross from Rúben Neves from close range.

The former Fulham striker then extended Al Hilal’s lead when he received a pass from Brazilian Malcom and fired the ball straight into the net in the 69th minute.

Three minutes later, Malcom scored Al Hilal’s fourth goal when he took advantage of a mistake by Al Nassr goalkeeper Bento in controlling the ball after a pass from Aymeric Laporte and effortlessly fired the ball home.

“We showed how good we are in the second half,” said Mitrovic. “We had a few problems in the first half and then changed things around in the second half. We stayed calm and it feels good to win a trophy right at the start of the season.”

Al Hilal have won the Super Cup for the second year in a row and the fifth time in their history and remain the most successful team in the competition, three titles ahead of Al Nassr.

This was a familiar story for Ronaldo and Al Nassr, who were beaten by Al Hilal in their battle for the Saudi King’s Cup and the Saudi Pro League title last season.

The new season of the Saudi Pro League begins on Thursday when Al Nassr hosts Al Raed.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.