Portugal captain and the all-time leading goal scorer in men’s international football Cristiano Ronaldo captained his new club Al-Nassr for the fourth time in the row, when they faced Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League. In the previous game, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored his first goal for his new club in Saudi Arabia to salvage a precious point for the current league leader, and brought the momentum to last night’s league fixture. The former Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus man scored FOUR past league struggler Al-Wehda in their home of King Abdul Aziz Stadium, Mecca, allowing himself to register more than 500 league goals throughout his illustrious career.
First Game After Gustavo’s “Difficult” Remark
Interestingly, this was Ronaldo’s first game followed his teammate, Luiz Gustavo’s comment that the “Presence of Cristiano makes it difficult for us (Players in Al-Nassr)”. The former Bayern Munich player explained that teams “Seek to participate against him (Ronaldo) in the best possible way” as well. As we all know how motivated Ronaldo is in such a circumstance, he once again showed everyone that he is still more than capable of competing at the highest level possible. Last night’s match against Al-Wehda was certainly a great response, because the four-time Golden Boot winner netted four goals in the space of 40 minutes, and achieved a huge milestone as a result.
Cristiano’s first goal of the evening came when he combined with winger Abdulrahman Ghareeb in attack, he first passed the ball to the 25-year-old player, before the latter sending it back to the penalty box. Ronaldo then coolly finished the strike and scored his second goal in as many matches for Al-Nassr. Ghareeb was involved in Ronaldo’s second tally of the evening as well, when he received a long ball at opposing half and cleverly gave it to Sami Al-Najei, before the 26-year-old attacking midfielder sent a perfect through ball for his captain to double Al-Nassr’s lead.
Ronaldo did not have to wait long for his hat-trick as a handball committed by the opponent few minutes after the restart allowed him to complete the incredible feat, but he was hungry for more in the match. Eight minutes later, the Portuguese forward received another brilliant through ball from his teammate and broke away from two Al-Wehda defenders. His initial shot was saved by Abdulquddus Atiah, only to have the rebound fell just before Cristiano, for him to hit home his fourth of the night at the bottom left corner. The match ended with Al-Nassr taking all three points in an away fixture, with Ronaldo scoring all four goals of the match.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored four or more goals in a match for the eleventh time in his career 💪 pic.twitter.com/fVdeHpFKHE
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 9, 2023
500th League Goal as a Belated Birthday Gift
Cristiano Ronaldo’s first goal against Al-Wehda last night was his 500th overall league goal in his career, the feat also signified a belated birthday gift for the megastar, who had just celebrated his 38th birthday earlier this week. Ronaldo is definitely no stranger to scoring four or more goals in a single match, having done so in 10 previous occasions in his career, with the last came against Lithuania back in 2019; The captain of the Portugal national team also scored five against Granada and Espanyol in 2015 when he was with Real Madrid.
His goal contribution in Portuguese Primeira Liga, English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and Saudi Pro League for Sporting CP, Manchester United (Two tenures), Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr now stands at 503 goals in 654 matches.
Cristiano: “Happy to Score, Happier for the Win.”
In an interview with SSC Channel, Ronaldo expressed his gratitude being able to score goals last night, but he also extended his satisfaction in helping the team to gain another important victory, the response read “I’m really happy for the goals I scored today, but what made me happier is being able to help my team-mates to win this game.” The triumph allowed Al-Nassr to continue to consolidate its position as the leader of the Saudi Pro League; The Riyadh-based team now has 37 points as its closest rival Al-Shabab, but the nine-time Saudi Premier League champion has another game in hand and will play the fifth-placed Al-Taawoun FC next on Friday.
Make sure to catch Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr’s action and matches live here.
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