Cristiano Ronaldo is losing ground in the Golden Boot race in Saudi Arabia. The Portuguese has fully recovered from the right thigh problem he sustained on February 28 and has improved his scoring performance in the absence of Quiñones and Iván Toni. In the first match after the injury, Cristiano scored two goals and showed that he is ready to fight for the Golden Boot and the Saudi title. At the moment, Al Nasr leads the standings with five points over Al Hilal, with the date of the match between the two teams, May 7, marked in red.
Since Cristiano’s injury, Ivan Toni has scored three goals in domestic competitions, while Chiones has scored four. They have 26 goals each. The Portuguese’s two goals against Al Namej helped close the gap, and he now has 23 goals in 23 appearances. Since arriving in Saudi Arabia, the Portuguese player has won Saudi Arabia’s Golden Boot award in every season he has played. This season, he is two goals shy of matching last season’s leading scorer record.
he has the spirit of a captain
Upon his return to the field against Al Najma, images of the Portuguese star talking to Jorge Jesus shortly before being substituted went viral. This is what his coach later explained. “Look at Ronaldo’s mentality…he didn’t care about not scoring anymore goals or not getting a hat-trick, he was trying to protect himself and the team. That’s the mentality of a captain,” he said when asked about their conversation.
The only season in which he did not finish as top scorer was in 2022-23, his first stint in Saudi Arabia after signing from Manchester United. Although he scored 14 goals in 16 games, he was unable to reach the top scorer title, and since then Cristiano has been the top scorer.
unexpected injury
Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury came at the “worst possible” time. He had just snapped his longest scoring streak of the season, scoring five goals in four straight games. Quinones and Toni have done their homework during their time away, against Al Qadosia and Al Ahly, and Roger Martínez is just three goals away from equaling the Portuguese.
With only seven games left until the AFC Champions League quarter-finals and the end of the league season, this stage of the season will be important for Al Nasr and they will be relying on Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals.
