RIYADH: There isn’t much more to say about Cristiano Ronaldo right now than the fact that he added two more goals on Friday to help Al-Nassr defeat Al-Ahli in a dramatic 4-3 victory.
Even if it became a little tight towards the finish, the victory earned the Riyadh club its most meaningful result thus far in the season.
Al-Nassr is presently in fifth position, just three points behind leaders Al-Ittihad, after losing both of their first two games. They have won their past five games after suffering two losses.
Al-Nassr is blazing through the league with nine goals from Ronaldo in seven games.
Al-Nassr’s offensive prowess appears capable of scoring nearly every time the club passes the midway point, which may explain Al-Ahli’s unease.
With barely four minutes remaining, Sadio Mane took advantage of some shaky defending to feed Ronaldo just outside the box while playing on the same pitch as his former Liverpool colleague Roberto Firmino.
Although Ronaldo’s finish was flawless, goalie Edouard Mendy may attribute it to the green haze that had shrouded the area. The 38-year-old effortlessly stroked the ball into the net in the manner of a player with more than 850 goals to his credit.
Later, as Al-Nassr prepared to riot, spurred on by their ecstatic home supporters, the Portuguese international struck the upright.
After 16 minutes, Anderson Talisca scored the second goal. A right-handed free-kick was headed back across goal by Aymeric Laporta, and the Brazilian sprang up at the far post to tap the ball in.
Al-Ahli, who want to fight for the championship themselves, would have finished second with a victory and tied on points with Al-Ittihad. During the half-hour, they displayed their abilities.
Franck Kessie was waiting to run on goal and score from the outside of the box after Mohammed Al-Majhad perfectly sent a ball over the top of the yellow defense.
Both teams made progress, but just as the visitors were about to go into halftime behind by one goal, they realized they were playing without Talisca. The blond-haired striker was intently loitering on the corner of the area when Marcelo Brozovic crossed the pitch from the left, and his ball was barely cleared as far as him. He then cut inside and sent an unstoppable shot high into the net, leaving Mendy with no chance.
As Talisca followed up his two excellent goals with a careless foul in the box, Riyad Mahrez once again cut the deficit in half by scoring from the penalty spot.
In the Saudi Pro League, Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Al-Nassr to a stunning 4-3 victory against Al-Ahli
However, Ronaldo restored his team’s two-goal lead with another outstanding effort only two minutes later. The former Real Madrid player received a pass from Talisca on the outside of the box, took a touch, and then sent a left-footed effort past Mendy and into the bottom corner. It was yet another instance of a lethal finale.
It was time for a local striker to join the action three minutes from the end. Firas Al-Buraikan scored his first goal after his recent high-profile transfer from Al-Fateh after Mahrez squared a flawless pass across the six-yard box. The goal made for a close game, but Al-Nassr managed to prevail.
The game was thrilling for spectators and included some fantastic attacking play. Ronaldo once again proved his mettle, while Al-Nassr appeared to be quite threatening.