Ronaldo moves closer to 1000 career goals in Al Nassr's fourth straight win

Cristiano Ronaldo edged closer to an unprecedented milestone of 1,000 career goals after scoring the winner in Al Nassr's 2-1 victory over Al Taawoun on Friday, extending his team's perfect start to the Saudi Pro League season.

The 41 year old's 50th minute strike took his overall career tally to 978 goals, leaving him just 22 short of the historic four figure mark he continues to chase, while also confirming his status as Al Nassr's all time leading scorer.

Great work down the left from Joao Felix set up the goal, breaking into the Al Taawoun box before cutting back to Mohamed Simakan on the edge of the area.

Simakan's goalbound effort was flicked home from six yards by Ronaldo, who wheeled away in celebration as replays showed the ball would have found the bottom corner regardless.

Al Nassr had to come from behind for the second match running, following their dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Al Ettifaq on Tuesday.

Bassam Al Hurayji put Al Taawoun ahead in the 11th minute, before Portuguese midfielder Samu Costa levelled with virtually the last kick of the first half, in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Ronaldo's finish now stands at 104 goals for the club across the Saudi Pro League era, surpassing Mohammad Al Sahlawi's previous record of 103. Across all competitions for Al Nassr, he has equalled Al Sahlawi's tally of 131, trailing only club record holder Majed Abdullah, who sits on 259.

The victory also extended Al Nassr's remarkable scoring streak to 91 consecutive matches, the second longest such run in football history and the longest currently active anywhere in the world.

Ronaldo has personally contributed to 155 of those goals across 150 appearances for the club, with just six more matches needed to claim the outright world record.

Ange Postecoglou's side now sit top of the table on a perfect 12 points from four matches, while Al Taawoun remain stuck in 15th place with only two points to their name so far this season.

Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes this time around, a contrast to Tuesday's win over Al Ettifaq, when he was withdrawn at half time with his side trailing 2-0 and reacted with visible frustration, throwing his arms up and dropping the captain's armband before Sadio Mane's second half brace completed the turnaround.

Postecoglou later defended the reaction, describing Ronaldo as "passionate about football and passionate about Al Nassr."