Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the scoresheet for Al Nassr, and the strike moved him into the top 10 of the Saudi Pro League scoring chart. The Portuguese star was on target in a 3-1 win over Al Faisaly that kept the team firmly in the title race.
Ronaldo headed home a Joao Felix free-kick delivery to make it 2-0, his first goal in two matches after failing to score against Neom in his team’s last fixture, when he also missed a penalty. Ronaldo could have added to his total, as a second goal minutes after his header was ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
Although he has now reached five league goals in nine appearances, the 41-year-old remains well adrift of Golden Boot leader Ivan Toney of Al Ahli, who has 11 in eight matches.
Still, the gap is far from insurmountable for a striker with Ronaldo’s pedigree, and a couple of productive outings could quickly bring him back into the conversation at the top of the scoring chart.
The finish took his career tally to 982 goals, leaving him 18 shy of the 1,000 mark, while the win lifts Al Nassr to 25 points. They are now level with league leaders Al Qadsiah, who face third-placed Al Hilal later today in a result that could reshape the title race.
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Saudi Pro League top 10 scorers
Ronaldo is one of eight players on five goals, with Toney, Youssef En-Nesyri and Mateo Retegui the only players above that mark. This is how the scoring chart looks after Ronaldo’s goal against Al Faisaly:
| Player | Team | Goals |
| 1. Ivan Toney | Al Ahli | 11 |
| 2. Youssef En-Nesyri | Al Ittihad | 7 |
| 3. Mateo Retegui | Al Qadsiah | 6 |
| 4. George Ilenikhena | Al Ittihad | 5 |
| 5. Francisco Trincao | Al Ahli | 5 |
| 6. Alexandre Lacazette | Neom | 5 |
| 7. Alexandre Mendy | Al Faisaly | 5 |
| 8. Steven Bergwijn | Al Ittihad | 5 |
| 9. Tijjani Reijnders | Al Qadsiah | 5 |
| 10. Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | 5 |
With more than two-thirds of the season still ahead, the Golden Boot race is far from decided. Ronaldo and Al Nassr will look to build on this win, as the 41-year-old tries to keep climbing the scoring chart while the team stays in the title hunt.
