Cristiano Ronaldo strikes again to keep Al-Nassr in title race

RIYADH: For the first time since arriving in Saudi Arabia, Cristiano Ronaldo and his Al-Nassr team were in a must-win situation on Friday and when the pressure was on, he and his team delivered with a 4-0 victory over Al-Raed at Mrsool Park. The result means that the Yellows are, once again, three points behind leaders Al-Ittihad and still in the running for league title number ten.

It may not have been a vintage performance from Al-Nassr but after a goalless draw at Al-Fayha and a 2-0 defeat against Al-Hilal in the last two league games (as well as a surprising King’s Cup semi-final elimination at the hands of Al-Wehda on Monday) it was welcome return to winning ways and, in the end, a very comfortable one. 

A third successive failure to win would have been a major blow to any championship hopes. A day earlier, Al-Ittihad defeated third-placed Al-Shabab thanks to a late, late penalty to go six clear and all knew that had Al-Nassr failed to match that result then the Roshn Saudi League trophy would have moved even closer to Jeddah. In the end however, it was a comfortable victory for the home team. Al-Ittihad may have three points more and six games left instead of five but there is still plenty to play for.

With top scorer Anderson Talisca missing due to suspension –and watching from the stands – Ronaldo settled the nerves after just four minutes with the kind of goal that fans of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Juventus know very well.

Al-Raed failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to Sultan Al-Ghannam on the right side of the area and the full-back chipped a beautiful cross towards the far post and the five-time Ballon D’Or winner climbed high to send the perfect header downwards past the diving Silviu