MU 2 : 3 Al Hilal, Cris keep scoring

CRISTIANO RONALDO opened up his box of magic tricks and wowed the Kingdom of Saud.

He was greeted by 65,000 in the King Fahd Stadium as if he was one of their own.

The Portuguese star responded like he always does — by entertaining those who have come to enjoy the beautiful game.

Here last night, Ronaldo continued his quest for world domination.

They went mad in Seoul, Macau and Guangzhou in the summer.

Now he has been a hit on United’s first trip to the Middle East.

While he has learned to simplify his game to an extent at home, nights like this are for flicks and tricks.

The defenders were bamboozled, the crowd amazed. A volleyed backheel brought a gasp.

Then a blistering burst of pace set up the equaliser after Al Hilal had taken a surprise lead through Yasser Al Gahtane on 19 minutes.

Ronaldo skipped between two opponents on halfway, leaving them skidding into each other.

Then he picked out a diagonal pass for Carlos Tevez, who clipped a shot back across the keeper.

Ronaldo then gave United the lead on 33 minutes, with a glancing header from Nani’s corner.

This game was to honour the retirement of 163-cap Saudi Arabia legend Sami Al Jaber — so it was only right the man should score, netting a penalty after being clipped by Rio Ferdinand.

With Ronaldo replaced at half-time, United lost much of their potency and went behind to Bader Al Khoraeshe’s overhead kick, before Danny Welbeck, 17, missed a last-minute penalty.

Boss Alex Ferguson said: “It was a good open match and we are delighted for Sami to get a crowd like that.”

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