Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brilliant goal direct from a free-kick as Al Nassr came from behind to beat Damac 2-1 in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.
Ronaldo found the net from more than 25 yards when he fired a dipping strike over a five-man defensive wall 56 minutes into the game. The 38-year-old had played a decoy role to help a teammate score from another free-kick moments earlier.
Ronaldo stood in his trademark pre-free-kick stance but then stayed standing as Talisca cheekily curled a fine shot around the wall and past keeper Moustafa Zeghba. Talisca’s strike drew Al Nassr level at 1-1 after former Tottenham winger Georges-Kevin N’Koudou had fired Damac into a shock lead just before half-time in Riyadh.
The Portuguese talisman has been at the Saudi club for nearly a year now since his departure from Manchester United in 2022. While he did excel last season after moving to his new team, his 14 goals were unable to stop Al-Ittihad from claiming the league title last time out.
Saturday’s win took Ronaldo and Co to 22 points from their first 10 league games of the season. Al Nassr are now four points behind leaders Al-Hilal, who were recently rocked by the news that star man Neymar is likely to miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury.