Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 953rd career goal on Saturday as Al Nasr maintained their grip on first place in the Saudi Professional League with a 3-1 victory over newly promoted Neom.
Cristiano Ronaldo lashed out at the referee during Al Nasr’s recent match, but then immediately made up his mind. Ronaldo, 40, was on the scoresheet again as Al Nasr defeated Neom 3-1 on Saturday to maintain a three-point lead at the top of the Saudi Professional League.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and his teammates. The game was scoreless at half-time, and as the players left the pitch, Ronaldo lashed out at referee Abdullah Al-Shehri.
The Manchester United legend quipped: “Well done, well done. Keep it up, you’re playing a good game, you’re playing a very good game.”
Within two minutes of the restart, Al Nasr took the lead with a goal from Angelo Gabriel. Neom were quickly reduced to 10 men after manager Al Sheri sent off Luciano Rodriguez for violent behavior following a VAR review.
There was then some sparring that left Ronaldo blushing as he missed a chance from close range, leading to Al Nasr being awarded a penalty. Joao Félix was adjudged to have been fouled, conceding Ronaldo’s 953rd career goal.
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Felix scored the third goal and Neom grabbed a late consolation, but it was too late as Al Nasr won 3-1 away. It was Jorge Jesus’ side’s third win on the bounce and their 14th win of the season in just 16 games.
Ronaldo won his first Saudi league title and has been waiting for a big trophy at club level since leaving United in December 2022, but Al Nasr remain top of the table with a three-point difference. “I’m working on my dream!” the former Real Madrid superstar posted on social media after the match.
Ronaldo recently claimed that it is harder to score goals in the Saudi top flight than in La Liga after a glorious nine years in Madrid. “I don’t need to speak because they can say whatever they want and the numbers don’t lie,” the Portuguese told Piers Morgan Uncensored.
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“They can say, ‘Oh, this is the Saudi League.’ They’ve never been here, they’ve never played here, they don’t know how to run in 40 degree weather. And I keep going, I repeat, the Saudi league is much better than the Portuguese league, of course. There’s only PSG in the French league.
“The Premier League is of course good and number one. Listen, I’ve played everywhere, but for me it’s easier to score in Spain than it is to score in Saudi Arabia.” Ronaldo continued, “If I were playing in a top team in the Premier League now, I would be scoring the same goals.”
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