Cristiano Ronaldo made a mark when he scored the 870th goal of his career, helping Al Nassr win 3-1 against Al Ettifaq in round 18 of the Saudi Arabia national championship (Saudi Pro League).
Being far behind the top team, Al Hilal forced Al Nassr to win continuously to hope in the championship race. Ronaldo and his teammates played at home against coach Steven Gerrard’s in-form opponent, Al Ettifaq.
Al Nassr pushed up the tempo right from the first minutes, while Al Ettifaq played mass defense. The home team pressed the field, but the combinations were lacking in sharpness and could not pose a danger to goalkeeper Victor’s goal.
Ronaldo celebrates his goal against Al Ettifaq on the evening of December 22 (photo: NVC).
The highlight of the match came in the 43rd minute, when Telles received the ball in the air before launching a volley from outside the penalty area on the left wing. The ball was so tight and dangerous that goalkeeper Victor gave up, opening the score 1-0. for Al Nassr.
In the second half, Al Nassr still pressed forward to attack. In the 59th minute, Ronaldo headed in a favorable assist for Brozovic to finish from close range, doubling the gap to 2-0 for Al Nassr.
In the 73rd minute, Mane passed the ball inside, Al Ettifaq defender Khateeb let the ball touch his hand, and the referee did not hesitate to blow a penalty for the home team. Ronaldo did not miss the opportunity to score a goal to increase the score to 3-0 for Al Nassr.
This is Ronaldo’s 51st goal in 2023 and also the 870th goal in CR7’s career after 1,202 matches. The Portuguese captain also raised his all-time scoring record to 49 goals, more than the person behind Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo has scored more goals in his career than Ronaldo Nazario (414 goals) and Thierry Henry (417 goals) combined.
The away team only had an honorable goal in the 85th minute, thanks to substitute Al Kuwaykibi. Defeating Al Ettifaq with a score of 3-1, Al Nassr got 40 points after 17 matches and was 10 points behind Al Hilal, but Ronaldo and his teammates played one match less than their opponents.
Squad
Al Nassr: Al Aqidi, Al Ghanam, Ali Lajami, Laporte, Telles, Fofana (Al Khaibari 79′), Brozovic (Al Sulayhim 90′), Otavio (Al Naji 88′), Talisca (Ghareeb 79′), Mane, Ronaldo
Goals: Telles (43′), Brozovic (59′), Ronaldo (73′-pen)
Al Ettifaq: Victor, Hendry, Al Khateeb (Al Shamrani 64′), Tisserand, Yousef (Al Otaibe 78′), Henderson, Hazazi (Al Kuwaykibi 64′), Ahmed Al Ghamdi (4′), Wijinaldum, Quaison and Dembele (Mahzari 78′)
Goal: Al Kuwaykibi, 85′
