Ronaldo continues to shine in Saudi Arabia
Ronaldo could have scored a hat-trick from the penalty spot but after scoring twice, he gave up the third penalty to teammate Abdulrahman Ghareeb. But the Saudi Arabian player disappointed the captain with a penalty kick that bounced off the post in the 63rd minute.
In addition to two goals, the Portuguese superstar also made a mark in the other two for Al Nassr, with an assist for Sadio Mane and a header that hit the post for defender Sultan Al Ghannam to score.
Ronaldo's performance continued to be highly appreciated, after he scored a hat-trick in the previous match and was scored 10 by Sofascore statistics. This time he received a score of 9.1 in 86 minutes against Al Shabab, continued. was the best player in the game.
The most notable player on Al Nassr's side was Argentinian midfielder Ever Banega, but the only hot spot he brought was a direct red card in the 78th minute with a foot kick straight into the knee of Sultan Al Ghannam. Al Nassr's squad value is five times that of Al Shabab, and developments on the Al-Awwal field also show that.
In the 12th minute, the $65 million midfielder Otavio crossed the ball into the hand of the away team player in the penalty area, helping Al Nassr enjoy a penalty. Ronaldo shot to the bottom right corner, fooling Korean goalkeeper Kim Seung-gyu to open the scoring. He congratulated the table in the familiar swing dance style, to the "siuuu" sounds that reverberated throughout the stands.
In the second penalty, Ronaldo himself was pushed down by midfielder Gustavo Cuellar from behind in the penalty area. This time Kim did not fall first, but Ronaldo still kicked to the right corner and the goalkeeper did not have time to react. Captain Al Nassr was happy with the brace, and danced to the music on the pitch. This is his ninth penalty goal, in 2023 alone.
Al Nassr was awarded a third penalty in the 61st minute, after Otavio once again hit his opponent's hand in the penalty area. This time Ronaldo let Ghareeb shoot, but this player bounced the ball off the post. He rushed into the net but the referee blew the whistle before because the ball had not touched anyone so Ghareeb could not receive the ball.
Ronaldo also assisted Mane in the 41st minute with a one-touch pass to the right of the penalty area for the Senegal star to shoot into a tight corner to make it 3-0. In the 80th minute, Ghareeb responded with a cross to let the captain head back to the far corner to hit the post, before Ghannam kicked his left foot to the near corner to seal a 4-0 victory for Al Nassr.
In addition to scoring on all four goals, Ronaldo also twice put the ball in the net but was disallowed for offside. There was a situation in the first half when he pushed the ball and then sped up but was out of breath. But then the 38-year-old superstar chased and won the ball back successfully.
With five goals, Ronaldo rose to the top of the Saudi Pro League top scorer race 2023-2024. In the next match, he and Al Nassr were guests on the field of rookie Al Hazm on the evening of September 2.
