Cristiano Ronaldo scored two goals including one in the dying minutes as Al-Nassr defeated 10-man Al-Khaleej 3-1 in their Saudi Pro League match at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam on Tuesday. Al-Khaleej’s prospect took a blow in the first half itself when defender Saeed Al Hamsal was given his marching orders in the 34th minute.
The first goal of the match, however, came in the second half when Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 65th minute. The former Real Madrid star pounced on an assist from attacking midfielder Otávio to deposit the ball in the left bottom corner of the post, past goalkeeper Ibrahim Šehić from outside the box.
Ronaldo brace comes to Al-Nassr’s rescue
Al Khaleej, however, levelled in the 80th minute as Kostas Fortounis scored from the spot after a handball from Ali Lajami. But Al-Nassr were quick to bounce back with Sultan Al-Ghannam finding the far corner from a close range in the very next minute
After seven added minutes, Ronaldo had a tap-in to score his second goal of the match capitalizing on an assist from Saad Hussain Haqawi.
The victory helped AL-Nassr to revive their league title hopes. Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr have now jumped to the third sport in the Saudi Pro League table with 32 points from 16 matches. Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad presently lead the table with 40 points each.