Misfortune continues to plague the career of Cristiano Ronaldo, as his team Al Nassr were unable to surmount Thursday's challenge, suffering a crushing 3-1 semi-final loss to Al Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup in Riyadh.
Undeniably, it would be foolish to disregard him yet, as he is still capable of conjuring up bewitching moments; however, it appears that the once formidable CR7 is verging on the edge of the sunset of his career.
The illustrious 37-year-old Portugal international, who has won the Ballon d'Or five times, had multiple opportunities to find the back of the net, yet his attempts were rendered futile by the staunch Al Ittihad defense.
As Anderson Talisca valiantly attempted to rescue Al Nassr with his 67th-minute goal, the dying horse was ultimately unable to overcome the two first-half goals from Romarinho and Abderrazak Hamdallah, leaving Al Ittihad with a two-goal advantage.
The nail to the coffin was when Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti added one more for the home team in the 3rd minute of stoppage time to the game, dooming the league leaders to the gallows.
Before the disappointing performance, Al-Ittihad fans greeted Cristiano Ronaldo with the thunderous sound of Lionel Messi's name, playing an exciting mind game.
The regal Ronaldo, who had already been feted as royalty since his big-money transfer to the Middle East, was further tested when the home crowd began chanting the name of his long-standing nemesis Messi, in a bid to rattle him.
It is noteworthy that Ronaldo, who recently faced off against Messi in a friendly match, has now transitioned to domestic action with Al-Nassr, a post-World Cup transfer.
Following his side's defeat, Al-Nassr coach Rudy Garcia made a pointed reference to Cristiano Ronaldo in his post-match statement, remarking that one of the key moments in the game was the fact that Ronaldo was unable to convert the chances presented to him in the first half.
Ever the enigma, it remains to be seen whether the Portuguese superstar's performance will be buoyed by Garcia's comments, or if he is still yet to adjust to the rigors of the Saudi League.
Al Nassr next travel to Al Fateh in the Saudi Pro League on Feb. 3.