Cristiano Ronaldo as soon as once more stood on the heart of Al-Nassr’s success story, because the Saudi powerhouse recorded a 3-1 victory over Neom SC on the King Khalid Sports activities Metropolis Stadium in Tabuk, extending its good begin to the season with an eighth consecutive league win. The conflict, filled with massive names like Sadio Mane, Joao Felix, and Kingsley Coman, was removed from one-sided. For lengthy stretches, the primary half teetered between dominance and frustration, with Al-Nassr dictating the tempo but failing to show management into targets.
Ronaldo, sometimes scientific, spurned what many would describe because the “best probability of the half”, sending a close-range header over the bar. Moments later, Mane misfired contained in the field, and the gang groaned in disbelief. However the sport’s rhythm shifted dramatically after the interval — and it was solely a matter of time earlier than Al-Nassr’s expertise instructed.
Within the forty eighth minute, the breakthrough arrived. After Ronaldo’s free-kick struck the defensive wall, Angelo Gabriel, the in-form midfielder and former Chelsea participant, reacted quickest to the rebound and fired a low shot previous Luis Maximiano to place Al-Nassr in entrance. The purpose sparked aid on the guests’ bench — and anxiousness in Neom’s ranks.
The house aspect’s night went from dangerous to worse when Luciano Rodríguez noticed crimson simply minutes later for an off-the-ball elbow on Nawaf Al-Boushal, confirmed after a VAR evaluation. It compounded Neom’s distress after Alexandre Lacazette had already limped off injured within the first half. At that time, it was clear who managed the narrative — and it was solely becoming that the 40-year-old veteran would take the subsequent headline for himself.
The second that made historical past
Simply after the hour mark, Ronaldo’s persistence paid off. Following a miscommunication in Neom’s protection, the Portuguese ahead noticed his first effort saved, however Joao Felix pounced on the rebound, forcing Abdoulaye Doucoure right into a determined foul inside the world. The referee instantly pointed to the spot.
After a short VAR verify, Ronaldo stepped up, took a deep breath, and — with trademark composure — despatched Maximiano the incorrect manner to double Al-Nassr’s benefit. However the purpose meant way over only a match-deciding second. Hidden beneath the celebrations was a milestone no overseas participant in Al-Nassr’s historical past had ever achieved.
That penalty marked his a hundredth direct purpose involvement within the Saudi Professional League — 83 targets and 17 assists in simply 85 appearances — making him the primary non-Saudi participant ever to succeed in that landmark for the membership. His strike additionally pushed him to 953 profession targets, extending one other layer of historical past: Ronaldo has now scored in opposition to 206 completely different opponents worldwide, together with 158 golf equipment and 48 nationwide groups, each world data.
Felix finishes, Al-Nassr flies
Regardless of conceding a late purpose to Ahmed Abdo within the 84th minute, capitalizing on a lapse by defender Mohamed Simakan, the guests remained unfazed. Inside two minutes, Joao Felix struck a thunderous long-range effort to revive the two-goal cushion and seal the 3-1 victory. That end marked his tenth purpose of the season, momentarily nudging him forward of Ronaldo within the Golden Boot race — a pleasant rivalry that continues to drive the membership’s relentless kind.
With 24 factors from eight video games, the Riyadh outfit now sits comfortably atop the Saudi Professional League desk, three factors away from Al-Taawoun, whereas persevering with to boast the league’s finest attacking report.
