Ronaldo Scores 980th Career Goal as Al-Nassr Beat Diriyah 3-0 in Saudi Pro League

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 980th goal of his career as Al-Nassr returned from the international break with a convincing 3-0 victory over Diriyah in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.

The win at Al-Awwal Park ended a 25-day league hiatus and helped Al-Nassr move temporarily to the top of the standings with 19 points, level with Al-Qadsiah. Their position could change following Saturday’s clash between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad, both of whom have an opportunity to move ahead with a victory.

Ronaldo’s performance also shifted attention away from the controversy surrounding his reported disagreement with Jorge Jesus, the former Al-Nassr manager who now coaches Portugal’s national team. The dispute had dominated headlines after Ronaldo’s abrupt departure from the national team camp during Portugal’s Nations League fixtures.

Al-Nassr head coach Ange Postecoglou had said the Portuguese forward remained in good spirits, and his display appeared to support that assessment.

Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 23rd minute after Kingsley Coman broke through Diriyah’s defence on the counterattack. Coman cut inside and fired at goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah, who could not hold the ball. Ronaldo arrived to finish calmly from the rebound.

Al-Nassr doubled their advantage in the 36th minute when Joao Felix delivered an outswinging corner that Samu Costa headed into the net. The ball bounced off the turf before crossing the line.

Felix had an opportunity to make it 3-0 before half-time after Ronaldo sent him through on goal, but the chance went unfinished. His miss recalled a similar counterattacking opportunity in Al-Nassr’s 1-1 draw against Al-Khaleej before the break.

Diriyah, coached by Bruno Lage, offered some attacking threat through a fluid formation featuring Darwin Nunez, Adil Boulbina, Enzo Millot and Oscar Rodriguez. However, despite finding space in the opposition half, they managed only one shot on target in the first period.

Al-Nassr adopted a more cautious approach after the interval, dropping deeper and reducing their pressing intensity. Diriyah enjoyed more attempts on goal in the second half but struggled to trouble goalkeeper Bento.

Coman sealed the result in the 77th minute, racing forward after receiving a pass from Sadio Mane and finishing into the bottom corner.

Elsewhere, Al-Qadsiah strengthened their title credentials with a 5-0 away victory over Al-Kholood. Tijjani Reijnders scored in the fourth minute, followed by goals from Christopher Bonsu Baah and Musab Al-Juwayr before half-time. Mateo Retegui added a fourth in the 67th minute, and Julian Quinones converted a penalty late on.

Al-Ahli also recorded a commanding win, beating Al-Fateh 4-0 in Al-Hasa. Francisco Trincao scored twice, while Ivan Toney netted his 11th league goal of the season. Ziyad Al-Johani completed the scoring in the 89th minute.

Saturday’s programme includes Al-Hazem against Neom, an Eastern Province derby between Al-Ettifaq and Al-Khaleej, and the headline Saudi Clasico between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad at 9 p.m.