Al Nassr decisively defeated American side Inter Miami 6-0 on Thursday evening at the "Kingdom Arena," the new home of Al Hilal, in the second match of the Riyadh Season friendly cup held in the Saudi capital. The match was popularly dubbed "The Last Dance" as it marked the final clash between Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of Al Nassr, and his longtime rival Lionel Messi, playing for Inter Miami. However, Ronaldo was absent from Al Nassr’s lineup due to injury, which also prevented him from participating in the team’s preparatory tour in China, leading to its cancellation. He only attended the match from the VIP stands at the "Kingdom Arena."
On the other hand, Messi was not part of the starting lineup and came on as a substitute eight minutes before the end when the score was already 6-0. His name was notably missing from the substitutes' list announced by the American club prior to the match.
Al Nassr's goals came from Octavio, Anderson Talisca (who scored a hat-trick), Aymeric Laporte, and Mohamed Maran in the 3rd, 10th, 12th, 51st, 68th, and 73rd minutes. Al Nassr is set to face their neighbors Al Hilal on the same pitch in the final match of the Riyadh Season Cup next Thursday. The winner of this match will be crowned champion of the Riyadh Season Cup after Al Hilal recently defeated Inter Miami 4-3 in the opening match last Monday.
**Early Hat-Trick**
Al Nassr entered the match aggressively, taking advantage of significant fan support, and they only needed three minutes to score the first goal through Octavio with a powerful shot from inside the penalty area. Al Nassr continued their offensive, leading to a second goal in the 10th minute by Talisca, who capitalized on a precise cross, making things harder for Inter Miami.
Before Inter Miami could recover from the shock of the two goals, Laporte struck again with a third goal just before the first quarter of an hour had passed with a long-range shot from midfield.
Inter Miami’s first real threat came in the 30th minute when Luis Suarez received a through ball, shooting directly from inside the box, but David Ospina expertly deflected it for a corner. Ospina sustained an injury during this play, leaving the match and being replaced by his teammate Walid Abdullah.
**Messi's Appearance**
The beginning of the second half mirrored the first, with the Saudi team applying pressure and scoring their fourth goal from a penalty after Talisca successfully converted a shot following a foul on Mohamed Maran by goalkeeper Kalander.
Inter Miami pushed forward searching for a consolation goal, and Suarez nearly scored in the 61st minute after receiving a low cross, but Walid Abdullah saved brilliantly. Maran then added another goal with a precise header, taking advantage of a lapse in the American defense.
Talisca completed his hat-trick after receiving a beautiful through ball from Alex Telles, breaking free to shoot forcefully into the far right corner of the net, with VAR confirming the Brazilian star was onside.
Messi came on as a substitute for Leonardo Campana in the last eight minutes in hopes of scoring a consolation goal, but he could not change the outcome or even threaten the Saudi goal.
