Are you ready for another thrilling Riyadh derby? If not, brace yourself, as Al Nassr hosts arch-rivals Al Hilal at Al Awwal Park in what promises to be an exciting fixture. Both sides will be looking to secure the crucial three points, but the real contest may be about who makes it onto the scoresheet—specifically, between the star players of each side, Cristiano Ronaldo and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

With all eyes on these two, known for being among the most lethal goal-scorers, fans can expect no shortage of determination and competitive fire. As today’s match pushes each star to go the extra mile for their team, let’s take a look at which of these players has been delivering clutch performances.

Cristiano Ronaldo for Al Nassr

Indeed, age is just a number for the Portuguese superstar. Since his arrival in late 2022, while collective trophies are an area where he may lack, the 39-year-old has never fallen short when it comes to scoring goals. So far, Cristiano Ronaldo has netted 67 goals for Al Nassr and 18 assists in over 76 games across all competitions that the Knights of the Najd has featured in.

During the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League campaign, the Al Nassr skipper remained the top scorer of the league, having netted a total of 35 goals. In fact, he proudly won the SPL Golden Boot race against his very arch-nemesis, Aleksandar Mitrovic, who finished second in the race with a decent tally of 28. That’s not all, as even in the assists department, Ronaldo made a top 3 finish with a tally of 11 assists behind Al Hilal’s Ruben Neves (12), and Al Ahli’s Riyadh Mahrez (13).

Even in the debut season—albeit he joined after mid-season, Ronaldo was able to score 14 goals for the Knights of the Najd, finishing 5th in the 2022/23 race. However, the most concerning statistic that Ronaldo would be eager to change is that the Real Madrid star has yet to score against Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League as well as the Kings Cup. He has only managed to find the back of the net against Al Hilal during a Saudi Super Cup clash.

Aleksandar Mitrovic for Al Hilal

Having joined Blue Waves months after Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival, precisely in the summer of 2023, Aleksandar Mitrovic has surely given some remarkable performances for Jorge Jesus’ side. So far, he has notched 54 goals and 11 assists in over 58 games across all competitions that Al Hilal competed in.

Of course, as mentioned before, he lost last year’s Golden Boot race with Ronaldo by just 7 goals. However, the Serbian striker has always stepped in for his team when needed the most. In fact, unlike CR7, Mitrovic has managed to score 3 goals against Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Furthermore, in the Saudi Super Cup, the 30-year-old forward has scored twice, including an assist against Ronaldo and Co.

This season, Aleksandar Mitrovic is leading the top-scorer race, having netted 10 goals for Al Hilal so far. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo is in third place with 6 goals, trailing Al Ittihad’s Karim Benzema, who is in second place with 8 goals. It remains to be seen how who comes out to be on top between Mitrovic and Ronaldo towards the end of the season.