Rio Ave thrashed by Al Nassr in friendly match with Cristiano Ronaldo's hat trick

For the team led by Jorge Jesus, who is training in the Algarve, Frenchman Simakan scored in the first half in the 16th minute and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 44th, both after decisive passes from João Félix.

CR7 , who drew more than 10,000 fans to the stadium, completed the hat trick in the second half, in the 63rd and 68th minutes, the latter from a penalty kick.

In the Vila-condense team's first public appearance before the official start of the season, left-back Athanasiou was the only reinforcement in the eleven chosen by the new coach, Greek Sotiris Silaidopoulos.

The Saudis claimed the upper hand in the opening minutes and, after an initial threat from Cristiano Ronaldo, who shot was saved by Miszta, in the 11th minute, central defender Mohamed Simakan opened the scoring in the 15th minute, following a headed pass from Félix.

Rio Ave responded after half an hour and, in two offensive forays, saw Brazilian goalkeeper Bento stop dangerous shots from Athanasiou (41 minutes) and Clayton (43).

Soon after, in the 44th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo and João Félix, recently acquired from Chelsea, combined to finish off the 40-year-old forward, who is going into his fourth season at Al Nassr .

The pace dropped considerably in the second half, in which the goalkeepers had practically no work to do, with the Saudis maintaining inconsequential dominance in the face of weak opposition from Rio Ave.

The game got lively when, in the 62nd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo offered a penalty to Sadio Mané – even being booed by the fans – only to see the Senegalese striker waste it childishly, redeeming himself the following minute with a precise header to make it 3-0.

Before being substituted, the Portuguese international was applauded again when he scored his third goal in the 68th minute, from the penalty spot, which Mané wanted to take, despite the protests of coach Jorge Jesus.

Rio Ave will only make their debut in the I Liga in the second round, hosting Nacional, after the opening match against Benfica was postponed until September 23 due to Benfica's games in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

Photos: Malha Communication/Singular Sport