Cristiano Ronaldo proved once again why he’s still box office at 40, firing two second-half goals to lead Al-Nassr to a thrilling 2-1 comeback win against Al-Riyadh on Saturday night.
Despite controlling possession early on, Stefano Pioli’s side found themselves trailing at the break after Faiz Selemani capitalised on a rebound in the 45th minute. But Al-Nassr wasted no time in the second half, responding with force and flair.
In the 55th minute, Sadio Mane slid in a precise assist across goal for Ronaldo to tap in the equaliser. Then came the moment of magic just nine minutes later, the Portuguese icon blasted home a sensational volley from the edge of the box after a poor clearance, sealing the victory and sending fans into a frenzy.
Ronaldo’s brace brought his tally to 7 goals in his last 5 appearances, and more importantly, kept Al-Nassr’s title hopes alive in the Saudi Pro League.
The night went from bad to worse for Al-Riyadh when Ahmed Asiri saw red in stoppage time after slapping Al-Nassr’s Jhon Duran in the head an incident confirmed by VAR. Duran, who joined the club for a record €77m in January, had a night to forget, squandering multiple chances.
Next up, Al-Nassr travel to Al-Qadisiyah next Friday, with Ronaldo looking unstoppable and the team riding high on momentum.
