WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo Ends Goal Drought, But Was Left Furious Despite Al-Nassr 4-0 Win Over Al Raed.
Cristiano Ronaldo ends his goal drought, as he returns to the scoresheet on Friday, heading in the opening goal in Al Nassr's comfortable 4-0 victory at home against Al Raed in the Saudi Pro League.
He had gone goalless in his last three matches as Al Nassr dropped crucial points in the title race and were knocked out of the King Cup at the semifinal stage.
The Portuguese star opened the scoring just after just four minutes into the encounter, meeting a cross from the right by Sultan Al-Ghannam and heading down into the corner of the net from close range, at the KSU stadium, Riyadh.
Al Nassr doubled their lead 10 minutes into the second half through Abdulrahman Ghareeb before a dramatic incident occurred on the pitch.
It happened that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, became the centre of debate among fans after he was left berserk having not been awarded a penalty in the 56th minute.
Ronaldo was taken down by a rash sliding tackle inside the box, but the referee told him to get back up and waved away his appeals.
To make matters worse for Ronaldo who threw his arms in frustration and voiced his disbelief as the penalty shout wasn't given despite being reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), but rather an on-field decision to play on.
Footage of the incident posted on social media sparked a split of opinion with fans either defending Ronaldo, or accusing the 38-year-old of going to ground far too easily.
Penalty for Ronaldo?#Ronaldo #النصر_الرائد pic.twitter.com/6wh1ji72ST
— AlAudhli العوذلي (@AAudhli) April 28, 2023
Fortunately the incident made little difference to the outcome of the match, with both substitutes Mohammed Maran and Abdulmajeed Al-Sulaiheem finding the net in the dying minutes (90 and 90+4 minutes) to make the final result an emphatic one for Al-Nassr who keeps the pressure on Al-Ittihad at the top of the table.
Al Nassr remains in second place in the Saudi Pro League, 56 points from 25 games, but close the gap on Al Ittihad to three points, although the leaders have a game in hand.
Ronaldo played the full game and now has 12 goals in 13 league games for Al Nassr so far this season.
The 38-year-old Al-Nassr captain, further reacted to his team’s performance in the win over Al-Raed.
In a post via his Instagram account after the game, Ronaldo hailed his teammates for beating the visitors, and thanked the fans for their support during the game.
“Great win. well done team! Special Thanks to the fans for being incredible as always,” Ronaldo wrote.
Ronaldo had joined Al Nassr in December following the acrimonious end to his second spell in Manchester United, when he publicly criticised the club and their manager Erik ten Hag.
Up next for Ronaldo's side is another home game against Al Khaleej on Monday, May 8.
He and his side have five games left to play in the Pro League this season, and will hope they can force Al-Ittihad to slip up at the top of the table.
WATCH HIGHLIGHTS!
🎬 || Night of 4️⃣ Goals
— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) April 29, 2023
Team effort ✊
Enjoy..! 💛pic.twitter.com/FcPQSTMeE3
Post a Comment