Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines during the recent international break, as the former Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus megastar became the most-capped player in men’s international football and scored braces in both of Portugal’s 2024 Euro Qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg last time around. He transferred his fine form from international matches to club duties yesterday and scored two more goals for Al-Nassr, in the latter’s 5-0 thrashing over league struggler Al-Adalah in the Saudi Pro League.
CR7 Drew First Blood, Al-Nassr Hit Another Four in the Second Half
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Portugal national team captain opened the score line five minutes before the first added time was awarded. A foul in the penalty box prompted the referee to give a spot kick to the home side, in which the 38-year-old home team captain converted despite the goalkeeper guessing the right way of the penalty. The solid penalty was his 10th goal of the season for his new club and he helped earn Al-Nassr a 1-0 half-time lead.
In the second 45 minutes, the home team went on a scoring spree, kickstarted by attacking midfielder Talisca. The Brazilian smashed home a long-range shot at the edge of the penalty box in the 55th minute; The strike was too strong and there was nothing shot stopper Milan Mijatović could do about it. Cristiano Ronaldo was not going to let his teammate steal the show last evening. After receiving a pass from Talisca, the Portuguese forward tried a similar shot like the latter and enjoyed the same result from his own effort. It was Ronaldo’s 11th goal in as many games for Al-Nassr.
Al-Nassr was hungry for more although taking a 3-0 lead. In the 78th minute, substitute Ayman Yahya sliced through the defence and found Talisca all alone in the penalty box. The player then cheekily dinked the ball over the goalkeeper for the home side’s fourth goal of the evening. The young winger then turned from provider to scorer in the final seconds of the match, when Talisca tried to chipped the ball again but was read by the shot stopper. The ball then ricocheted to Ayman Yahya to score his fourth goal in 16 appearances for Al-Nassr, earning the home team a well-deserved three points in its league title race.
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Ronaldo: “Great Team Performance.”
After the match, Ronaldo updated his official Instagram account with a post about the win, calling it a “Great team performance” and showing his delight to accumulate another victory for his new club. His Al-Nassr team will head to King Salman Sport City Stadium to face Al-Fayha next, with hopes of continuing to pile pressure on league leader Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League; Al-Nassr is currently placed at second place in the Saudi Pro League, trailing the top team Al-Ittihad only by a single point.
Cristiano Ronaldo may welcome his long-time rival Lionel Messi to the Saudi Pro League, should the Argentine captain agree to sign with fellow Saudi club Al-Hilal with a €400m per year proposal when he becomes a free agent this summer transfer window. The proposed contract will make him the highest earner ever in the history of football, eclipsing the previous record set by Ronaldo himself via his Al-Nassr terms.
