‘Derby tha, upar se final’ – Fans react as massive brawl breaks out as Al Nassr player tries to plant flag following their win over Al Hilal in Arab Champions Cup final

Derby matches have an extra flavour of rivalry added to them. This year’s Arab Club’s Champions Cup final featured one such local derby as Saudi Arabian clubs Al Nassr faced Al Hilal in the coveted final. The game saw a Cristiano Ronaldo brace earn him his first piece of silverware in Saudi Arabia. Michael scored first for Al Hilal after a goalless first half. But, Cristiano Ronaldo doubled up in the 74^th and 98^th minute to win the game for his club.

Following the game, celebrations broke out in the middle of the pitch while players from both teams did their customary handshakes and waited for the lengthy presentation to start. During the celebrations, Al Nassr star Andreson Talisca brought out a huge flag of his club’s colour and tried to plant it on the pitch. However, he was wrestled by Al Hilal defender Ali Al-Bulaihi. It soon turned into an ugly brawl.

Al Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo sustained an injury in the closing minutes

However, Talisca’s actions were inspired by an identical celebration by Al-Bulaihi back in 2021 when Al Hilal beat Al Nassr in the semifinals of the same competition. Interestingly, he brought out a huge flag of his club’s colours and planted it right in the middle of the pitch in Mrsool Park in Riyadh. Talisca clearly wanted to grab this opportunity and replicate the celebration to symbolise their bragging rights until the next derby.

The final on Saturday remained a star-studded affair with new signings like Sadio Mane and Marcelo Brozovic, Seko Fofana and Alex Telles making up the starting XI for Al Nassr. At the same time, star players like Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Malcom made up Al Hilal’s XI.

While Al Nassr would be relieved to have won their first piece of silverware since Ronaldo’s arrival in January, they will be cautious about Cristiano Ronaldo’s fitness. He had to be brought off the field in a golf cart after sustaining an injury. They finished last season five points off the league summit and will be hoping to close the gap this season.

Here’s how fans reacted:

https://twitter.com/5aled_3seri/status/1690585131516354560