Cristiano Ronaldo was second-fiddle to Angel di Maria in Portugal on Thursday night, as his Al-Nassr team was humiliated by European opponents Benfica 4-1 in a second consecutive pre-season friendly.

The Portuguese superstar was involved from the start in Faro, marking Di Maria’s return to Benfica with his first appearance in Portugal.

Despite Benfica’s easy goals, an incident on the stroke of half-time saw the Argentinian stun Ronaldo as he chipped a ball over the Al-Nassr superstar before being pulled to the ground.

After losing 5-0 to Celta Vigo the previous week, Al-Nassr would have been looking for a rebound, but they quickly fell behind.

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Argentina World Cup winner Di Maria scored in the 22nd minute as Benfica sought to build an early advantage over their Saudi opponents.

The 35-year-old’s first goal was quickly followed by a quick-fire brace from Ronaldo’s national team colleague Goncalo Ramos, who scored twice in eight minutes.

Ramos took advantage of some sluggish defense to double Benfica’s lead in the 30th minute before adding a second less than ten minutes later as the European outfit demonstrated their superiority over their Middle Easter opponents.

Benfica were in cruise control as halftime approached, and Di Maria playedfully toyed with Ronaldo to highlight his side’s comfort in the pre-season game.

As the Portuguese attempted to regain possession, the Argentine winger pulled down a long ball and chipped the ball back over Ronaldo’s head.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was clearly irritated by this and promptly slammed Di Maria to the ground in rage.

Given his roots at Benfica’s Portuguese rivals Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo has a tense connection with the club and has recently refused to comment on Di Maria’s move to Roger Schmidt’s side.

‘Di Maria to Benfica?’ he said after Al-Nassr’s recent triumph over Farense. I’m not going to say anything about it. If you asked me a question about sports, I would answer it, but I will not remark on it.’

Khalid Al-Ghannam scored against the run of play for Al-Nassr on the eve of halftime.

However, Benfica quickly re-established their dominance, as Andreas Schjelderup added a fourth in the 68th minute, following a slew of half-time substitutions by the hosts.

Ronaldo was then substituted in the 84th minute and was greeted warmly by Portuguese fans inside the stadium.