Father Time and injuries are often the ultimate nemeses for professional sports athletes in their careers, but the same cannot be said on 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently scored his 50th goal in 2023 for club and country. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner and the captain of the Portugal national team achieved the milestone of his 50th goal in 2023 when his club Al-Nassr took on Al-Shabab in the Quarterfinal of the King Cup of Champions. The team in yellow jerseys thrashed their opponents with a 5-2 victory on enemy’s territory, allowing them to go through to the next round of the competition as a result.
A Seven-Goal Thriller Between Al-Shabab and Al-Nassr
The former Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus player had 49 goals in 2023 (39 for club and 10 for country) before Al-Nassr’s trip to Al-Shabab Club Stadium, and he definitely could not ask for a better result than a 5-2 thumping over their opponents in an away game to accomplish the 50-goal mark.
The home side would have gotten the first lead of the match, had Belgium international Yannick Carrasco managed to convert his penalty. His slipped kick then went way above the bar was punished by Seko Fofana, who got himself on the scoresheet in the seven-goal thriller first. The Ivory Coast midfielder was there to pick up a repelled shot from the opposing goalkeeper, and converted his close-ranged effort in the 17th minute. His goal would kickstart a scoring spree, as 28-year-old Carlos headed in the equaliser off a corner set piece delivery by Carrasco and Sadio Mané restored Al-Nassr’s lead via a sublime counterattack in the 24th and 28th minutes respectively.
The first half goal frenzy did not stop at three goals only, and Al-Nassr proceeded to increase the margin to 3-1, courtesy of an effort from Abdulrahman Ghareeb. The 26-year-old Saudi Arabia winger had to thank Marcelo Brozović for his third goal in 30 appearances for Al-Nassr this season, especially when the Croatian midfielder injured himself during the attack.
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Someplace in Riyadh 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FhaUqosGk6
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) December 11, 2023
Ronaldo Delivered 50th Goal in 2023 in Al-Nassr’s 5-2 Demolition Over Al-Shabab
The following 45 minutes are no less from dramatic than the first, and Ronaldo stole the headlines with his achievement of his 50th goal in 2023. The 38-year-old all-time leading goal scorer in men’s international football was teed up by Otávio in a Portuguese connection, and the former timed his run to perfection and found the back of the net in the far post for his 50th goal in 2023. In conjunction with his 50th goal in 2023, Ronaldo celebrated with almost the entire team at the corner of the pitch.
Al-Nassr would go on to win the game 5-2 and progress to the King Cup of Champions Semifinal, since Hattan Bahebri pulled one back from Al-Shabab just before the added time, whereas substitute Mohammed Maran helped his team regain the three-goal cushion.
Also made it into the next round of the competition are Al-Khaleej and Al-Hilal, with the last spot of the Semifinal will be borne between Al-Faisaly and Al-Ittihad, who are set to play each other at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium tonight.
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How Many Times Have Ronaldo Scored 50 Goals in a Calendar Year?
With his 50th goal in 2023, Ronaldo showed everyone that he is not taking a step back despite moving away from Europe and joining the Saudi region that is more famous in their oil production and wealth power than their popularity in football. Ronaldo’s 50th goal in 2023 that came against Al-Shabab yesterday also meant he has now scored 50 goals in eight calendar years, having done so back in 2011 (60 goals), 2012 (63 goals), 2013 (69 goals), 2014 (61 goals), 2015 (57 goals), 2016 (55 goals) and 2017 (53 goals).
If we take a look at the deeper statistics of Ronaldo after his 50th goal in 2023, the 38-year-old forward scored 40 and 10 goals for his club and country respectively, and this incredible statistics has made him the second player to attain that 50-goal mark in 2023, with Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland being the other high scoring machine. Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr will have three more games remaining in the calendar year of 2023, while Haaland will be given more opportunities to take home the scoring title of the year since his club has more games left, should the Norwegian striker sensation can come back in time from his recent injury.
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