Cristiano Ronaldo produced a remarkable second-half performance, scoring three goals in 15 minutes to inspire Al-Nassr to an entertaining 5-3 victory over Al-Kholood. This win took Al-Nassr to second position on the log with 28 points, despite playing a game less than the leaders Al Qadsiah, who also have the same number of points. Ronaldo's impressive performance saw him take his career tally to 985 official senior goals.
The match at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh was a thrilling encounter, with Al-Kholood's Julien Domingues giving his team the lead in the 16th minute. However, Al-Nassr responded eight minutes later when Ângelo Gabriel restored parity. Sadio Mané then put the hosts ahead in the 38th minute, converting another opportunity created by Portuguese forward João Félix. Al-Kholood equalised through Antoine Loic Essomba Bikoula in first-half stoppage time to send both teams into the break at 2-2.
Ronaldo had a frustrating first-half, with his two goals ruled out for offside. However, he enjoyed a blissful second half, scoring three goals in 15 minutes. Ronaldo gave Al-Nassr the lead in the 66th minute when he finished off a João Felix’s cutback. Six minutes later, he made it 4-2 with a glancing header before completing his hat-trick in the 81st minute.
João Felix delivered an outstanding performance, registering four assists in the five-goal victory to become only the third player to record four assists in a single Saudi Pro League match. This impressive feat puts him alongside Youssef El Kaddioui and Moussa Diaby, who have achieved the same feat in the league. Felix's performance was instrumental in Al-Nassr's victory.
Ronaldo's hat-trick was his 67th career hat-trick and his seventh for Al-Nassr. He has now scored 44 hat-tricks for Real Madrid, 10 for Portugal, and three each at Manchester United and Juventus. With this latest treble, Ronaldo is now 15 goals away from becoming the first footballer to reach the remarkable 1,000-goal milestone in official senior matches.
Following his impressive performance, Ronaldo took to Instagram to celebrate the victory and his first hat-trick in two years. He wrote: “Great win, great team performance. Happy to help with a hat-trick!” This win propels Al-Nassr to second position on the log and sets them up for their next match against Pakhtakor in the AFC Champions League on Monday.
Ronaldo has scored seven goals for Al-Nassr in all competitions this season, six in the Saudi Pro League and one in the AFC Champions League. His performance has been impressive, recording six shots, with four on target, while registering an impressive 1.97 expected goals (xG). Al-Nassr will look to build on this momentum in their upcoming matches.
Key points
- Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first hat-trick in two years to lead Al-Nassr to a 5-3 win over Al-Kholood in the Saudi Pro League.
