Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return to club football with his 980th career goal as Al-Nassr defeated Al-Diriyah 3-0 in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.
The 41-year-old opened the scoring in the first half before Samu Costa and Kingsley Coman added two more goals to seal a comfortable victory.
The result lifted Al-Nassr to second place in the league standings after eight matches. They are level on points with leaders Al-Qadsiah but remain behind on goal difference. Ronaldo broke the deadlock midway through the first half after Al-Diriyah goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah saved a powerful effort from Coman.
The Portuguese forward reacted quickly to the rebound and fired home from close range to reach another major career milestone. Costa doubled Al-Nassr’s lead shortly before half-time, giving the hosts a comfortable advantage at the break.
Coman then completed the scoring in the 77th minute to secure all three points for Ange Postecoglou’s side. The match also marked Ronaldo’s return to action following a dispute during Portugal’s recent international matches.
The veteran forward withdrew from the national squad after accusing Portugal coach Jorge Jesus of breaking a promise over his playing time in the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo issued a lengthy statement earlier in the week, explaining his frustration with the coach’s handling of the situation.
The Portuguese captain has scored 146 goals in 234 international appearances and remains his country’s leading goalscorer.
Despite the controversy surrounding his international future, Ronaldo showed no signs of distraction on his return to Saudi Arabia. His latest goal took his career tally to 980, moving him another step closer to the historic mark of 1,000 goals.
Al-Nassr, who won the Saudi league title in May, continued their strong start to the new season with another convincing performance. The victory also kept them firmly in the title race as they moved level on points with Al-Qadsiah at the top of the table.
