Cristiano Ronaldo is now just 75 goals away from reaching the incredible milestone of 1,000 career goals.
During Al Nassr’s match against Al Wehda in the Saudi Pro League on Tuesday, Ronaldo’s free-kick struck an opponent’s hand inside the box, earning his team a penalty. Typically, Ronaldo takes these spot-kicks for Al Nassr, but this time, he chose to let Sadio Mane take it. The Senegalese forward converted successfully, ending his nine-match goal drought. That penalty turned out to be the final kick of the match.
Before that, Ronaldo had already found the net himself. Just three minutes into the second half, he latched onto a cross and headed the ball home from six yards, giving Al Nassr the lead. With that goal, his career tally reached 925, bringing him closer to the elusive 1,000-goal mark.
The 40-year-old Portuguese star remains the top scorer in the league this season, with 17 goals in 21 matches. Right behind him is his former Real Madrid teammate, Karim Benzema of Al Ittihad, who has netted 16 goals in 18 games.
Ronaldo’s goal against Al Wehda took his tally for Al Nassr this season across all competitions to 25.
The match, originally scheduled to start earlier, was delayed by an hour due to Al Nassr’s team bus breaking down on the way to the stadium.
With this 2-0 victory, Al Nassr bounced back from their previous league defeat. They currently sit third in the standings with 47 points from 22 matches. Al Hilal are second with 51 points from the same number of games, while Al Ittihad lead the table with 55 points, having played one match fewer.
