THE ULTIMATE FACE-OFF of GOATS
Ammar Nisar Joyya/AM Naqshbandi
The BIGGEST war in the deserts of Arabia, the long awaited battle between “THE G.O.A.T’s” had finally been concluded, with one waving its flag high above in the battlefield, while the other looking at it with desperate, vengeful eyes.
BUT! “Does that decide who the real G.O.A.T is?
The well-known French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) took on Riyadh All-Stars in a friendly on Thursday 19th Jan. This was the first match of Cristiano Ronaldo for Saudi Arabia after his unfortunate contract termination by Manchester United.
Simultaneously, this was Lionel Messi’s first match after his victory in the World Cup Qatar 2022.
The match started at 12:00 pm ET(Eastern Time). Messi scored the first goal 3 minutes into the game, surprising all spectators watching it present. This may have reduced the confidence in Riyadh All-Stars until Keylor Navas was booked a yellow card for hitting his forearm on Ronaldo’s face at 33 minutes.
Cristiano Ronaldo took the penalty and scored his first goal for Riyadh All-Stars at 34 minutes into the game. In the 39th minute, PSG’s left back Juan Bernat received a red card for breaking the counter attack of Riyadh All-Stars. Just 4 minutes later, Marquinhos (The Captain of PSG) scored a goal on Kylian Mbappe’s marvellous assist.
When, 3 minutes of stoppage time was provided at the end of 45 minutes, PSG received a penalty kick. The penalty was taken by Neymar but unfortunately it was saved by the G.K. Right before the half time whistle, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his second and equalizer goal of the game due to the mis-clearance of the defender.
Sergio Ramos scored a goal for PSG, taking the score 3-2 at 53 minutes. At 56 minutes, Jang Hyun-Soo scored a goal for Riyadh All-Stars on a header, making the score even again. Match was like a sea-saw at this point of time. At 59 minutes, Ali Al-Bulayhi was booked a yellow card.
At 60 minutes Kylian Mbappe scored on a second penalty given by Riyadh All-Stars.
At 78th minute, Hugo Ekitike scored the 5th and final goal for PSG making the score 5-4. After a long trail for Riyadh All-Stars, Anderson Talisca scored the final goal for Riyadh All-Stars, during the stoppage time of 4 minutes.
The game concluded with PSG winning with one goal by the score 5-4.
According to the stats of this match, Cristiano Ronaldo contributed more in the game than Lionel Messi. Ronaldo was also declared the ‘Man Of The Match’.
Does this mean that Ronaldo Is the only G.O.A.T?
OR
The Truth behind the real G.O.A.T may be hidden forever?
No matter what, I believe this might not be the final clash between the G.O.A.T’s. Wait for next clash of titans of football (soccer).
