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Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 982nd career goal, a header from a João Félix free-kick, as Al Nassr beat Al Faisaly 3-1 in the Saudi Pro League. Abdullah Al-Hamdan and Ângelo also scored, taking Ange Postecoglou’s side to 25 points, level with Al Qadsiah at the top. Ronaldo is now 18 goals short of 1,000.
Al Majma’ah, Saudi Arabia: The number keeps climbing, and the man behind it keeps finding new ways to add to it. At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo rose to meet a free-kick at Al Majma’ah Sport City and sent it home, turning a comfortable away win into another landmark on his march towards 1,000 career goals.
It was a result Al Nassr needed. The defending champions came in chasing a second straight league title with the table tight at the top, and they left with all three points and a share of first place.
Al-Hamdan Strikes Early
Al Nassr barely needed to settle. In the fourth minute, Abdullah Al-Hamdan took the ball on the edge of the area and drove a right-footed finish into the bottom-right corner. It was a clean strike that gave the visitors the lead and set the tone for the evening.
Al Faisaly, sitting in the bottom half of the table, had a task that only got harder as the first half wore on. Ronaldo thundered a shot against the woodwork before the break, a warning of what was to come.
Ronaldo’s Header Makes It 982
Three minutes into the second half, the warning became a goal. João Félix, Ronaldo’s compatriot, whipped a free-kick into the box and Ronaldo met it with a powerful, trademark header. The goal survived a VAR check for offside, with the lines drawn to confirm he was onside.
It was Ronaldo’s fifth Saudi Pro League goal of the season and his sixth in all competitions, counting one in the AFC Champions League. It moved him into the league’s top ten scorers. Of his 982 career goals, 836 have come for clubs and 146 for Portugal.
The One That Got Away
Almost immediately, he thought he had No. 983. A second effort went in, but VAR ruled it out for offside, with a teammate caught in an offside position. Ronaldo finished the match with three shots, two on target and one off the woodwork.
Bongonda Responds, Ângelo Settles It
Al Faisaly did not go quietly. Substitute Théo Bongonda climbed highest to head home from close range in the 66th minute, cutting the deficit to 2-1 and giving the hosts a flicker of hope.
Al Nassr snuffed it out in the 79th minute. Ronaldo dinked a delivery into the box, Al-Hamdan chested it down into the path of Ângelo, and the forward fired home to make it 3-1. Ronaldo had a hand in the goal as well as scoring one himself.
The visitors finished with five shots on target to Al Faisaly’s two and held 55 per cent of possession, despite the home side having more total attempts.
Eyes on 1,000
The win lifts Al Nassr to 25 points, level with Al Qadsiah at the top of the table, with Al Hilal and Al Ittihad still in the title race. Their next league match is at home to Al Kholood on October 29.
For Ronaldo, the arithmetic is simple. Eighteen more goals would take him to the 1,000 mark he has said he wants before he retires. At the current rate, the question is no longer whether he gets there, but how soon.
Score: Al Faisaly 1-3 Al Nassr (Théo Bongonda 66′; Abdullah Al-Hamdan 4′, Cristiano Ronaldo 49′, Ângelo 79′)
