Ronaldo absent, Messi late sub as Al Nassr thrash Inter Miami\u060c<\/p>\n
The expected showdown between football's two biggest rivals failed to materialize on Thursday, with Lionel Messi limited to a late substitute appearance and Cristiano Ronaldo watching from the stands as his Al Nassr side beat Inter Miami of Messi 6-0.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo had been ruled out with a calf injury and Messi surprised Saudi fans by staying on the sidelines during the kick-off of Riyadh's Season Cup exhibition match.<\/p>\n
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)<\/strong><\/p>\n The Saudi Pro<\/a> League club's head coach Lu\u00eds Castro said on Wednesday that Ronaldo would not be able to take part in the match due to a calf injury, while reports indicate that Messi has been left out of the starting lineup as a precautionary measure.<\/p>\n There was confusion before kick-off over whether Messi would be included in Miami's squad after the MLS side posted a team sheet on X, formerly Twitter, with his name absent.<\/p>\n However, this post was deleted and a new team sheet including Messi on the bench was sharing<\/a>. Riyadh fans had to wait until the 83rd minute to see Messi come into action, with Miami already losing 6-0.<\/p>\n Brazilian Anderson Talisca scored a hat-trick for Al Nassr, while former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte scored from inside his own half. Al Nassr's other goals came from Otavio and Mohammed Maran.<\/p>\n The match, staged at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was billed as the final club meeting of the two stars who dominated European football<\/a> for a decade, including spells at Real Madrid and Barcelona.<\/p>\n