Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr held to a draw as Gabriel Martinelli’s hat-trick sends Al Hilal top of the SPL

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr missed a chance to keep pace at the top of the Saudi Pro League on Saturday, held to a 1-1 draw away at Al Khaleej, while Al Hilal delivered the standout result of Matchday 7, thrashing Al Taawoun 6-0 behind a Gabriel Martinelli hat-trick to leapfrog the field into first place.

Al Nassr found themselves behind early at Al Khaleej Club Stadium and struggled to find a way back for long stretches, with Ronaldo himself missing a clear headed chance that could have leveled the score sooner.

It ultimately took a substitute to salvage a point, as Abdullah Al-Hamdan curled home a right-footed effort from outside the box in the 72nd minute, just moments after coming off the bench, to secure the 1-1 result and avoid what would have been Al Nassr’s second league defeat of the season.

While Ronaldo’s side stumbled, Martinelli made an emphatic statement in Buraidah. The Brazilian winger, who joined Al Hilal from Arsenal, scored his first goals for the club in some style, netting in the 18th, 43rd and 50th minutes to complete his first hat-trick since leaving the Premier League.

Ollie Watkins added a brace of his own either side of Martinelli’s treble, and substitute Sultan Mandash rounded off the rout in the 75th minute as Al Hilal cruised to a 6-0 victory. The result lifted Al Hilal to 18 points from seven matches, one point clear of Al Ittihad, while Al Nassr’s draw leaves them in third place with 16 points.

Ronaldo misses chance to close the gap in the Golden Boot race

In addition to letting a chance slip to pick up crucial points in the race for first place in the Saudi Pro League, Cristiano Ronaldo also missed a golden opportunity to get on the scoresheet.

Facing an Al Khaleej side that had yet to win all season, it looked like fertile ground for Ronaldo to add to his tally and cut into the gap atop the Saudi Pro League scoring race.

Instead, the Portuguese came away empty-handed and remains stuck on three goals through five appearances, still miles off the pace set by Ivan Toney, who leads the standings with 10 goals in seven matches for Al Ahli.