da wazamba： The five-time Ballon d'Or winner scored twice against Al-Shabab in another action-packed round of fixtures in the Middle East
da betsul： If anyone was doubting whether Cristiano Ronaldo's career as an arch-goalscorer was coming to an end during the opening weeks of the new Saudi Pro League season, then the last two matchdays have put that assertion to bed – for now.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner backed up his hat-trick on matchday three with a double for Al-Nassr on Tuesday, and though both of his goals were from the penalty spot against Al-Shabab, no one can take away the fact that he now sits atop the goalscoring rankings after four rounds of games.
His team, however, remain down in sixth place as they continue to count the cost of their slow start to the campaign, and remain six points adrift of pace-setters Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli after the pair maintained their 100 percent start to the season. Al-Hilal, too, remain unbeaten as they prepare to take on old rivals Ittihad in the Saudi Clasico on Friday.
With all that in mind, GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the latest round of Saudi Pro League action..
WINNER: Cristiano Ronaldo
The usual 'Penaldo' jibes will likely have come out of the woodwork on Tuesday as Ronaldo scored twice from the spot against Al-Shabab, but the Portuguese will not have cared. He lives for scoring goals, no matter how they came out.
Ronaldo's performance was by no means limited to two strikes from 12 yards, either. He laid on an assist for Sadio Mane to score his fourth goal of the campaign, while the ex-Manchester United man also won a second-half penalty which he sportingly allowed Abdulrahman Ghareeb to take, only for the Saudi international to miss.
After four rounds, Ronaldo is currently the league's top score with five goals, ahead of team-mate Mane, Al-Hilal new boy Malcom and last season's Golden Boot winnner, Al-Ittihad's Abderrazak Hamdallah, who all have four goals each.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLOSER: Ever Banega
Ever Banega had a week to forget as his Al-Shabab side were on the wrong end of the result against local rivals Al-Nassr, the 4-0 defeat leaving them 17th in the table and still without a win in the first four games of the season.
Things got even worse for the Argentina international, as he was sent off late on for lashing out at an opponent as tempers flared following a bad challenge on Mane as frustrations began to boil over the visitors late on.
Banega is seen as the leader of the Al-Shabab side, but his wife, Valeria, may have made things even worse for the ex-Sevilla man as she hit out at the club's supporters on Instragam, insulting their religion and demanding her husband be allowed to leave.
"There are a lot of stars, and a lot of potential in the stadium, but we had to leave, because we only heard insults, the fans do not respect the family!!!" se wrote. "It seems that they prayed so much and forgot to do something very important, which is to educate!
“As long as the team situation continues in this way, Banega does not deserve to stay here…The situation leads to pessimism, Banega's professionalism and career deserve respect."
WINNER: Riyad Mahrez
Riyad Mahrez has not had things all his own way since arriving at Al-Ahli this summer, but the ex-Manchester City man was in fine form on Tuesday as his side ran out 2-0 winners over Al-Ta'ee.
Mahrez opened the scoring himself with his second goal of the season before laying on the assist for Franck Kessie to secure the points in the second half. That was one of six chances created by the Algeria international as he begins to adapt to his new surroundings.
Despite being newly-promoted, Al-Ahli's spending power has catapulted them to the top of the table with a maximum 12 points out of 12, marking the first time in the club's history that it has begun the season with so many competitive wins.
GettyLOSER: Roberto Firmino
That said, not all of Al-Ahli's summer imports enjoyed a fine performance on Tuesday, as Roberto Firmino looked like a player lacking in confidence despite only being a couple of weeks removed from his opening-day hat-trick.
The ex-Liverpool forward has not found the net since, and one wonders whether the injury that ruled him out of his side's game on matchday two is still plaguing him somewhat. The international break could be a good time for Firmino to get fully fit and reset.