Cristiano Ronaldo's second-half brace led Al-Nassr to third in the Saudi Pro League standings after they beat Al-Hilal 2-1 on Friday.
2024/2025 Saudi Professional League
1-3
Match Report
It was also Ronaldo's first goals against Al-Hilal at the fourth attempt in his league meetings against them, while also taking his tally to 70 goals in the division.
The opening period lacked any chances of note, with Sadio Mane and Jhon Duran seeing efforts blocked, with Aiman Yahya the first to test Yassine Bounou in the 43rd minute.
But Al-Nassr edged ahead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time in stunning fashion when Ali Al Hassan picked out the top corner with a curling strike from the edge of the box.
And just two minutes after the break, the visitors doubled their lead through Ronaldo, who sent a left-footed effort from inside the box past Bounou after being found by Mane's clever cutback.
However, Al-Hilal responded just after the hour when a teasing corner delivery was flicked to the back post by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, with Ali Al Bulayhi on hand to head the ball into the net on the line.
The hosts continued to push for a leveller having halved the deficit, with Marcos Leonardo going close, but hopes of a comeback evaporated two minutes from full-time.
Al-Hilal full-back Moteb Al Harbi was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box, giving Ronaldo the opportunity to seal the win from the penalty spot.
And the 40-year-old made no mistake from 12 yards, firing the ball down the middle to continue Stefano Pioli's side's fine start to 2025.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo hits 20 league goals again
Ronaldo continues to prove that age is just a number, with the 40-year-old proving to be the difference for Al-Nassr once again with his impressive display on Friday.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is the Saudi Pro League's top scorer this season, with his two goals at the Kingdom Arena taking him to 21 goals in the top-flight, reaching the 20-goal mark for the 15th time in his illustrious career.
Al-Nassr also continued their charge towards the top two. They have earned the most points (29) in the Pro League in 2025, six more than Al-Hilal (23).
And they were worthy of their win, ending the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.37 from their 18 shots to Al-Hilal's 1.61 from their 16 attempts, though only three of those were on target on a frustrating evening for Jorge Jesus' team.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
2' Match Event for Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
10' Highlight from Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
16' Highlight from Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
18' Highlight from Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
27' Highlight from Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
38' Match Event for Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
47' GOAL! Al-Hilal Saudi FC 0-2 Al Nassr FC (Cristiano Ronaldo)
49' GOAL! Al-Hilal Saudi FC 0-1 Al Nassr FC (Ali Al-Hassan)
54' Match Event for Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
56' Match Event for Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
62' GOAL! Al-Hilal Saudi FC 1-2 Al Nassr FC (Ali Al-Bulayhi)
67' Highlight from Al-Hilal Saudi FC vs Al Nassr FC
88' Penalty Goal! Al-Hilal Saudi FC 1-3 Al Nassr FC (Cristiano Ronaldo)
Line-ups
Al-Hilal Saudi FC XI: Koulibaly, Bounou, Salem Al Dawsari, Mitrovic, Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Mohammed Kanoo, Malcom, Ali Albulayhi, Lodi, Hamad Al-Yami
Subs: Yasir Al Shahrani, Mohammed Al Owais, Nasser Al-Dawsari, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, Khalifah Al-Dawsari, Khalid Al-Ghannam, Moteb Al-Harbi, Marcos Leonardo, Mohammed Al-Qahtani
Al Nassr FC XI: Ronaldo, Brozovic, Mane, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Ali Lajami, Ali Al-Hassan, Mohamed Simakan, Jhon Durán, Bento, Ayman Yahya, Salem Al Najdi
Subs: Laporte, Otávio, Abdulmajeed Al-Sulayhim, Ahmad Al-Harbi, Raghed Al-Najjar, Abdulrahman Ghareeb, Mohammed Marran, Majed Qasheesh, Awad Aman