As both teams emerged from the tunnel, Ronaldo tempted fate by touching the Saudi Super Cup, and it proved to be a kiss of death.
The Portugal superstar seemed unfazed in the game, initially, and opened the scoring with a classic, opportunistic finish, sticking his boot out to tap home from close-range after a clever cut-back, but he would soon betray his own frustrations with his team-mates during a dismal second-half.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic kickstarted a remarkable comeback for Hilal in the 55th minute as he burst into the box after a smart one-two and slammed an effort into the roof of the net.
And Aleksandar Mitrovic then scored twice in six minutes in to give his side a comfortable 3-1 lead, first thumping a header into the back of the net, and then finishing from inside the six-yard box after Hilal again got in behind Nassr's backline.
Malcom added a fourth in the 72nd minute. The Brazilian robbed goalkeeper Bento after a poor touch and tapped into an empty net.