JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a second-half hat-trick as Al-Nassr defeated Al-Kholood 5-3 in a thrilling Saudi Pro League match on Thursday night, taking the Portuguese superstar to 985 career goals and within 15 of the historic 1,000 goal milestone.
The 41-year-old striker produced a decisive performance at Riyadh’s Al-Awwal Park, scoring three goals after half-time to help Al-Nassr overcome a determined Al-Kholood side in a match that produced eight goals. Project reports
The victory strengthened Al-Nassr’s position in the Saudi Pro League title race, with the club moving up to 28 points and provisionally sharing top spot with Al-Qadsiah, who had a match in hand.
Ronaldo’s treble was the highlight of the evening, but Al-Nassr also benefited from goals from Ângelo Gabriel and Sadio Mané, while Portuguese attacking midfielder João Félix played a significant role in the hosts’ attacking performance.
Al-Kholood strikes first while Al-Nassr responds
Al-Kholood stunned the home fans by taking the lead through Julien Domingues in the 16th minute.
The visitors immediately showed ambition and threatened to disrupt Al-Nassr’s rhythm, forcing the hosts to respond rather than settle for their preferred attacking scheme.
Al-Nassr gradually took control, with João Félix emerging as a key creative influence. The former Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder provided the assist for Ângelo, who restored parity in the 24th minute.
The equalizer shifted the momentum towards the hosts, who began to exploit the spaces in the away defence.
Mané then gave Al-Nassr the lead in the 38th minute, finishing after another contribution from Félix to make it 2-1.
However, Al-Kholod refused to surrender. Antoine Essomba scored in first-half added time to put the visitors at 2-2, ensuring the game remained close at the break.
The two teams produced an entertaining first half, with Al-Nassr showing attacking quality but struggling to consistently contain their opponents.
Ronaldo takes the lead after the break
With the game still tied, Ronaldo was the protagonist in the second half, demonstrating his ability to turn a hard-fought match in his team’s favor.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United striker restored Al-Nassr’s lead in the 66th minute after receiving a pass from Félix and finishing from close range.
The goal gave the hosts new confidence and put pressure on an Al-Kholood defense that had already conceded two goals.
Ronaldo scores again in the 72nd minute, getting up to respond to another shot from Félix and sending the ball into the net to extend Al-Nassr’s lead to 4-2.
The Portugal captain completed his hat-trick in the 81st minute, finishing off Mané’s pass to make it 5-2 and put the score past the visitors.
The three goals highlighted Ronaldo’s movement, aerial ability and finishing instinct, qualities that continue to make him a central figure in Al-Nassr’s quest for domestic success.
His performance also underlined the importance of the partnership between Ronaldo and Félix, whose creativity helped unlock the away defense in crucial moments.
Domingues scores the consolation late on
Despite being three goals down, Al-Kholood continued to search for a response and managed to reduce the deficit in stoppage time.
Domingues converted a penalty in the 90th minute plus extra time to complete his brace and make the final score 5-3.
The late goal gave the visitors something to show for their attacking efforts, although it didn’t stop them from leaving Riyadh empty-handed.
For Al-Nassr, conceding three goals will still be a cause for concern for the coaching staff, especially as the club chases the league title.
The victory, however, meant that the attacking quality of Ronaldo, Mané, Ângelo and Félix ultimately outweighed the defensive problems that allowed Al-Kholood to remain competitive for much of the evening.
Ronaldo is approaching 1,000 career goals
The hat-trick took Ronaldo’s career total to 985 goals, leaving him just 15 goals away from reaching 1,000 in competitive senior matches.
The achievement has become one of the defining statistical goals of the latter stages of his career, with the striker continuing to add to his impressive goalscoring record in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo has built his career around extraordinary consistency in front of goal, having scored prolifically for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Al-Nassr and Portugal.
His most prolific spell was at Real Madrid, where he established himself as the club’s all-time top scorer and won numerous UEFA Champions League titles.
He also became the top scorer in men’s international football, further cementing his position among the most productive attackers in the history of the game.
At 41, Ronaldo’s latest hat-trick demonstrates his continued ability to influence matches at the highest level of the Saudi league.
While reaching 1,000 goals remains a future goal, Thursday’s performance brought the milestone significantly closer and renewed focus on how soon he could reach it.
Al-Nassr maintains title ambitions
The result provides a major boost for Al-Nassr as the Saudi Pro League season continues, with the club looking to convert its attacking strength into a sustained title challenge.
Félix’s contribution was particularly encouraging, as his passing and vision helped create many of the opportunities that proved decisive against Al-Kholood.
Mané and Ângelo also made valuable contributions, ensuring that the burden of the goal did not fall solely on Ronaldo.
However, the three goals conceded will serve as a reminder that Al-Nassr must improve defensively if they want to maintain consistency against their stronger rivals.
With the standings tight at the top, every point could prove important in the title race.
