Marching to face Al Khaleej in round 29 of the Saudi Pro League, Al Nassr welcomed the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the starting lineup. The Portuguese captain returned after being absent from the victory over Al Feiha due to suspension.
“CR7” made its mark with a series of dangerous situations in the first half. In the 10th minute, the 39-year-old striker broke the offside trap to catch the ball that crossed the line from his teammate. Ronaldo decisively volleyed over goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic’s head, but was denied a goal by the crossbar.
Five minutes later, “CR7” dribbled past the opponent’s goalkeeper and put the ball into the net. However, the opening goal still did not come to Al Nassr because of offside.
Luck continued to turn away from Ronaldo in the 20th minute. The pressing effort helped “CR7” win the ball in the opponent’s penalty area. Receiving a return pass from his teammate, Ronaldo immediately scored but could not beat Sehic’s excellent reflexes.
They had to wait until midway through the second half for the guests to break the deadlock. Marcelo Brozovic took an accurate free kick for Aymeric Laporte to powerfully head into Al Khaleej’s net, giving Al Nassr the lead in the 68th minute.
No further goals were scored for the remainder of the match. Ronaldo and his teammates continue to cling to the hope of chasing Al Hilal on the rankings, although the gap is still up to 9 points.
