Al Nassr are in provisional third place after beating bottom club Al Fateh (3-1) with a goal from the Portuguese, who remains top scorer ahead of Benzema.
Al Nassr secured a 3-1 win over Al Fateh, the weakest team in the Saudi Pro League, in a match that was more about effectiveness than flair. The victory temporarily puts them in third place - above surprise package Al Qadsiah - offering consolation for Cristiano Ronaldo’s squad, which is facing a tough road to the title—currently 8 points behind Al Hilal with one more match in the bag.
It’s also a morale boost for the Portuguese forward, who added another goal to his tally in the race for the top scorer title and has 1,000 goals in his sights. Ronaldo now leads with 14 goals, pulling ahead of close competitors Karim Benzema and Aleksandar Mitrovic by two goals.
It could have been more, though. As usual, Ronaldo was relentless from the first whistle. He had a penalty appeal turned down, had a brilliant goal ruled out for offside, and saw a shot rattle off the crossbar and bounce on the line. Sadio Mané was also highly involved, only to see his own goal disallowed due to a marginal offside call.
It was Brazilian forward Angelo, however, who opened the scoring for Al Nassr, capitalizing on a rebound from a deflection off defender Saadane. This came just before halftime, as the team was beginning to feel the pressure of failing to break down the league’s bottom side. In the second half, Al Nassr doubled their lead with a header from Simakan, which should have been the moment of calm... it was anything but.
The drama came from Bento, the Brazilian goalkeeper, who was the cause of the most bizarre play of the match. What should have been a routine clearance turned into a disaster when Bento attempted to dribble past the pressing attackers. The risky move backfired as the ball ended up at the feet of Batna, who calmly slotted it home to make it 2-1.
While Al Fateh didn’t create many serious chances, the lingering uncertainty remained—one stroke of luck could lead to an equalizer. That fear was alleviated in the dying minutes when Ronaldo sealed the win with a counter-attack goal, calmly finishing off a pass from Mané.
He even had time to score another classic Ronaldo goal, a stunning dribble followed by a rocket shot, but it was ruled out for offside. That decision clearly frustrated the Portuguese star, despite the victory—a vivid reflection of Ronaldo’s relentless hunger for more.