Cristiano Ronaldo powers Al Nassr to victory, but the Saudi Pro League Golden Boot still seems far away
Cristiano Ronaldo scored in Al Nassr’s 3-0 win over Al Diriyah on Friday, October 9, in his first match since leaving the Portugal camp. The goal was his 980th as a professional, but the Saudi Pro League scoring chart shows he is still well behind the leaders.
Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 23rd minute at Al-Awwal Park, pouncing on a rebound in front of an empty net after goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah could only parry Kingsley Coman’s powerful strike. Samu Costa made it 2-0 in the 35th minute, heading home a corner delivered by Joao Felix, while Coman wrapped up the win in the 77th minute.
The match carried extra weight for Ronaldo after the turmoil of recent days, where he left the Portugal camp following his fallout with coach Jorge Jesus. The home fans made their feelings clear before kick-off, chanting his name and raising a banner in his honor, and he repaid them with the opening goal.
The result also keeps Al Nassr in the title race. The win took them to 19 points, level with leaders Al Qadsiah but behind on goal difference. However, Al Hilal or Al Ittihad could overtake both with a win in their clash on Saturday, October 10.
Golden Boot still out of reach
The scoring table shows how much ground Ronaldo still has to make up. Ivan Toney leads the Saudi Pro League with 11 goals in eight appearances, well ahead of the rest. Francisco Trincão, Mateo Retegui and Alexandre Lacazette follow with five each.
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A little further down, Ronaldo is listed with four goals in seven appearances, leaving him well behind the leader of the table. The Portuguese star is not the only player in the Saudi Pro League with four goals, which makes the race for the Golden Boot tighter and more intense.
Al Qadsiah’s Julián Quiñones, Al Ittihad’s George Ilenikhena, Steven Bergwijn and Youssef En-Nesyri, and Al Hilal’s Sergej Milinković-Savić are all level with him, so the race behind Toney is crowded. At 41, Ronaldo would need a big run of goals to close the gap, and Toney has set a pace that is hard to match.
