Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning goal as Al Nassr defeated Al Taawoun 2-1 on Friday to maintain their perfect start to the Saudi Pro League (SPL) season.
The 41-year-old Portugal forward played the full match as Al Nassr secured their fourth consecutive victory to remain at the top of the league table.
Al Taawoun took an early lead in the 11th minute through Mohammed Bassam Al Hurayji, putting Al Nassr under pressure. However, Al Nassr found an equaliser in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time when Samu Costa struck to make it 1-1 at the break.
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Ronaldo then put Al Nassr ahead five minutes into the second half. João Felix created the opportunity with a run down the left before his cutback eventually reached Mohamed Simakan on the edge of the box.
Simakan’s goal-bound effort was flicked into the net by Ronaldo from six yards, giving the Portugal international his 978th career goal.
Simakan initially appeared surprised as Ronaldo celebrated, with replays showing that his original effort was also heading towards the bottom corner.
The victory follows Al Nassr’s dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Al Ettifaq on Tuesday, when they scored three times in the final 16 minutes after trailing 2-0 at half-time.
Ronaldo had been substituted in that match, but he completed the full 90 minutes against Al Taawoun to help Al Nassr make it four wins from four games.
Source: Khaleej Times