Cristiano Ronaldo reached a historic milestone on Thursday, scoring his 100th goal in Saudi Arabian football as Al Nassr defeated Al Shabab 4-2.
The milestone – his 26th league goal of the season and 971st of his career – helped Al Nassr extend its lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League to five points over rivals Al Hilal.
Portuguese star Joao Felix played a key role in the victory, scoring two goals within the first ten minutes and completing his hat-trick with a late penalty to seal the result.
Al Shahab kept the match competitive through goals from Yannick Carrasco and Ali Bulayhi, but were ultimately outmatched by the clinical finishing of the AI Nassr strike force.
Ronaldo’s milestone goal was set up by Sadio Mane, who delivered a precise cross close to the post to restore AI Nassr’s momentum in the second half.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” said Al Nassr coach Jorge Jesus.
“We are fully aware of its importance and deal with it with full focus, because we know that small details can determine the outcome.”
He stressed that the focus has already shifted to Monday’s high-stakes derby against Al Hilal, noting that “small details” will decide the match that could decide the title race.
Attention now turns to Monday’s crucial derby against Al Hilal, a match that could be decisive in the title race.
