Ronaldo's late winner fuels Al Nassr's early dominance

Al Nassr faced an early deficit at Al-Awwal Park before Cristiano Ronaldo turned the tide, delivering his 978th professional goal to secure a 2‑1 victory over Al Taawon and edge the team further towards a historic 1,000‑goal landmark.

Bassam Al-Hurayji opened the scoring in the 11th minute, giving Al Taawon the lead and prompting alarm among the home supporters.

Al Nassr responded before the break when Samu Costa levelled the score, his finish arriving from a precise assist by Sadio Mané.

In the second half, at the 50th minute, a cross from Mohamed Simakan found Ronaldo, who redirected the ball after a deflection to make it 2‑1, a goal later confirmed by VAR.

Celebration and personal milestone

The referee’s VAR check delayed the celebration, but once the decision was upheld, the stadium witnessed an iconic moment as Ronaldo, known as CR7, exchanged glances with teammates before the crowd erupted.

Sadio Mané approached Ronaldo, requesting the famous “siuuu” chant; Ronaldo stepped back, performed his trademark jump and received a roar from the spectators.

The strike moved Ronaldo closer to the unprecedented milestone of 1,000 official goals, leaving him well ahead of his chief rival Lionel Messi, who has 923 goals in 1,170 matches for Inter Miami.

His tally now stands at 978 goals, accumulated across 129 trophies with Al Nassr, 451 with Real Madrid, 146 with the Portugal national team, 145 with Manchester United, 101 with Juventus and five with Sporting CP, achieved in 1,331 matches.

Team impact and future outlook

Coach rested Ronaldo at the 80‑minute mark, substituting him for Abdullah Al Hamdan, while the fans applauded the decisive contribution.

The win cemented Al Nassr as solitary leaders of the Liga Arabia Saudita, sitting on 12 points ahead of Al Hilal and extending their winning run to four matches.

Al Nassr’s next challenge is scheduled for Saturday 5 August, when they travel to Al Ittihad, with expectations again centred on Ronaldo to extend his personal scoring streak.