Ronaldo heads Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Faisaly

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 982nd career goal as Al Nassr beat Al Faisaly 3-1 in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.

The 41 year old Portuguese is now 18 short of 1,000 and has moved into the league’s top 10 scorers.

Substitute Angelo Gabriel sealed the win within 11 minutes of coming on, finishing a chance set up by Abdullah Al Hamdan. The 21 year old Brazilian was introduced by Ange Postecoglou after Theo Bongonda had pulled one back for Al Faisaly.

Theo Bongonda headed in a Mohammed Al Shanqiti cross to reduce the deficit to 2-1 for Al Faisaly. Ronaldo had earlier seen a second goal ruled out for offside after a VAR review, just minutes after scoring with his header.

Ronaldo had made it 2-0 four minutes into the second half, heading in a delivery from Joao Felix. It was his first goal in two matches, after missing a penalty and failing to score against Neom, whom Al Nassr still beat 1-0.

Al Hamdan had opened the scoring in the eighth minute from a Sadio Mane assist at the Majmaah Sports City Stadium in Al Majmaah. The 27 year old, picked ahead of Angelo Gabriel, also provided the pass for the third goal.

The goal took Ronaldo to 836 club goals in 1,109 matches and 146 international goals in 234 games, with 450 for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, 135 for Al Nassr, 101 for Juventus and only five for Sporting Lisbon.

It was Ronaldo’s fifth league goal in nine appearances, enough for the Saudi Pro League top 10, though Al Ahli’s Ivan Toney leads the Golden Boot race with 11 in eight matches. He has six this season in all competitions.

The win lifted Al Nassr to 25 points, level with leaders Al Qadsiah, who face third placed Al Hilal later in the round. Al Hilal are a point behind with a postponed game in hand, so the title race could change quickly.