Al Fateh 0-2 Al Nassr: Ronaldo makes scoring return to send visitors second

Cristiano Ronaldo marked his return to Al-Nassr's squad with a goal as they clinched a 2-0 win over Al-Fateh to move up to second in the Saudi Pro League.

Match Report

Having missed two league games due to a protest against the club's hierarchy over their lack of transfer activity, the Portugal icon returned to lead Al-Nassr to a sixth straight win.

Ronaldo fired wide with just 34 seconds on the clock as Al-Nassr made a bright start to the match, with Kingsley Coman also blazing over from close range.

But Ronaldo got on the scoresheet just 18 minutes in. Sadio Mane, who had stepped up in the 41-year-old's absence, curled a low cross in from the left, and Ronaldo met it first time to beat Fernando Pacheco.

Al-Fateh grew into the game as the first half went on, with Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem, Mourad Batna and Jorge Fernandes all testing Bento, but they could not convert.

Mohamed Simakan then drilled in a low shot from Marcelo Brozovic's half-cleared corner, though the goal was disallowed for an offside in the build-up after a lengthy VAR check.

But Alman Yahya made sure of the points in the 78th minute, bringing down Coman's cross before rifling off a powerful shot that left Pacheco with no chance.

Data Debrief: Ronaldo slots straight back into the action

It was like Ronaldo had never been gone as he wasted little time to get his 18th goal in the Saudi Pro League this season.

It brings him up to 962 career goals as he continues to chase that 1,000-goal landmark, leaving him just 38 away from hitting the eye-watering total.

There were not a lot of clear-cut opportunities despite Al-Nassr having 14 attempts to Al-Fateh's 10, though the visitors overperformed their 1.3 expected goals (xG).

And they have now kept a clean sheet in their last five league games – it is their longest such run since keeping six in a row between October 2014 and February 2015.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

1' Match Event for Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

10' Match Event for Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

12' Match Event for Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

18' GOAL! Al Fateh 0-1 Al Nassr FC (Cristiano Ronaldo)

24' Match Event for Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

40' Match Event for Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

47' Highlight from Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

52' Match Event for Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

68' Match Event for Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

78' GOAL! Al Fateh 0-2 Al Nassr FC (Ayman Yahya)

84' Match Event for Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

84' Highlight from Al Fateh vs Al Nassr FC

Line-ups

Al Fateh XI: Pacheco, Sofiane Bendebka, Mourad Batna, Marwane Saadane, Jorge Fernandes, Vargas, Youssouf, Naif Masoud, Saeed Baattia, Wesley Delgado, Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem

Subs: Hussain Qasim, Ziyad Al-Jari, Abdullah Safuq Al-Enezi, Ali Al-Masoud, Fahad Aqeel Al-Zubaidi, Mahmoud Al-Burayh, Abdul Aziz Al-Fawaz, Mohammed Al-Sahihi, Mohamed Al-Sarnukh

Al Nassr FC XI: Ronaldo, Brozovic, I. Martinez, Mane, Coman, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Felix, Abdullah Alkhaibari, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Mohamed Simakan, Bento

Subs: Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Ali Al-Hassan, Nader Al-Sharari, Nawaf Boushal, Ayman Yahya, Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Mohammed Marran, Salem Al Najdi