Cristiano Ronaldo smashed a Saudi Pro League record as Al-Nassr beat Al-Ittihad in their final domestic game of the season.
Ronaldo broke the Saudi Pro League scoring record in a single season as he scored twice to guide Al-Nassir to a 4-2 win over Al-Ittihad in their final league game of the season. The 39-year-old broke the deadlock at the stroke of half-time after receiving a long ball from Mohammed Al-Fatil. The Portuguese star chested the ball down before pushing it into the back of the net.
He then shattered the scoring record of 34 goals in a single Saudi Pro League campaign – previously held by Abderrazak Hamdallah – in the 69th minute when he converted a clinical header from Marcelo Brozovic’s corner. It was also the Portuguese’s 50th goal across all competitions in as many games in the current campaign.
Al-Nassr then extended their lead in the 79th minute courtesy of a strike from Abdulrahman Ghareeb from the penalty spot but Al-Ittihad scored twice within a gap of four minutes to keep the clash alive until the end. Meshari Al-Nemer, however, scored a fourth goal for his team in the 95th minute to crush N’Golo Kante’s side’s hopes of staging a late comeback and securing at least a point.
Ronaldo was simply unstoppable in his last game of the season as the forward looked hungry for goals right from the word go. Despite seeing two of his attempts ruled out due to offside, the Portuguese managed to break yet another record in Saudi Arabia and sign off in style.
Al-Ittihad defender Suwailem Abdullah Awadh was at fault for bringing down Ronaldo just outside the penalty box which earned him a direct red card and reduced his side to 10 men. Shortly after his sending-off, the Al-Nassr star completed his brace which sealed the fate of the game.
Luis Castro’s side will be next seen in action on Friday as they take on Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal, who finished their top-flight campaign with an unbeaten record, in the King Cup final.