Cristiano Ronaldo made a stunning return. After more than a month sidelined through injury, the Portuguese forward came back to lead Al Nassr to a 5-2 victory over Al Najma, scoring a brace to take his career tally to 967 goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo Returns With Brace, Closes in on 1000 Goals
The Portuguese star returned after more than a month out injured and led Al Nassr’s win with a brace, moving just 33 goals away from the 1000 mark.
The striker had not played since February 28, when he suffered a muscle injury that kept him out for 34 days. His comeback came in Matchday 27 of the Saudi league, against the bottom-placed side.
The team managed by Jorge Jesus secured their 15th consecutive win, although the first half proved challenging. Al Najma took the lead in the 44th minute through Rakan Al Tulayhi, surprising the league leaders.
However, just before halftime, Al Nassr responded quickly with goals from Abdullah Al Hamdan and Sadio Mané to turn the game around.
Early in the second half, Brazilian forward Felippe Cardoso equalized once again, but that’s when Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up. He converted a penalty in the 56th minute to make it 3-2 and added his second goal in the 73rd minute after finishing a cross from Nawaf Boushal.
Ronaldo was substituted with ten minutes remaining, and in stoppage time, Sané added the final goal to seal the emphatic win.
With this brace, Cristiano Ronaldo now has 967 career goals, continuing his march toward the historic 1000-goal milestone. Meanwhile, Al Nassr remains firmly at the top of the table, holding a six-point lead over Al Hilal.
