In round 18 of the Saudi Pro League, Al Nassr defeated Al Ittihad with a score of 5-2. The double that Al Nassr took advantage of helped Cristiano Ronaldo reach the milestone of 53 goals for the year.
On the evening of December 26, Ronaldo expressed his happiness after scoring a goal for Al Nassr in the match against Al Ittihad. Al Nassr’s photo
On the evening of December 26, Ronaldo expressed his happiness after scoring a goal for Al Nassr in the match against Al Ittihad. Al Nassr’s photo
Ronaldo surpassed the scoring achievements of Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé, who each had a total of 52 goals in their career. With both Kane and Mbappé retiring in 2023, there is a high possibility that the Portuguese striker will win the competition for the 2023 top scorer title. Erling Haaland, who has scored 50 goals, still has Potential to catch up with Ronaldo. However, the Norwegian striker is currently sidelined due to injury and may not be able to fully recover in time to play in Manchester City’s two upcoming matches, scheduled to take place on December 28 against Everton. and December 30 against Sheffield United.
Al Nassr is the away team playing in the Saudi Pro League, and is the defending champion. Their aim is to win three points and increase the gap between them and leaders Al Hilal to three points. Ronaldo’s team needs to end their winless streak against Al Ittihad that has lasted 5 years and 11 matches. Although forced to play away from home, Al Nassr did not encounter too many difficulties despite having to play against an opponent in a state of crisis.
In the 11th minute, Ronaldo kicked the ball into Al Ittihad’s goal but the goal was considered offside because it was not recognized. Not long after, Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah scored a goal for the home team thanks to good coordination in the penalty area. On the other hand, Karim Benzema fouled in the penalty area, creating conditions for Al Nassr to equalize. When Ronaldo took the penalty kick, he shot to the right, fooling goalkeeper Al-Maiouf. The then 38-year-old striker walked to the far post after scoring and performed the “Siu” gesture to celebrate the goal. recognizable.
After unleashing his most memorable acceleration shot, Ronaldo failed to take advantage of the opportunity to put Al Nassr ahead by hitting the post. On the other hand, this does not reduce the enthusiasm of the team playing away from home. Al Nassr was able to lead 2-1 at half-time thanks to a pass from Anderson Talisca and a fine finish while they were in the box.
At the beginning of the second half, Hamdallah once again played the hero when he successfully headed the ball past goalkeeper Alaqidi, bringing the match into balance. Several opportunities were missed after this goal, including 2 unsuccessful shots by Benzema. This goal opened up minutes of suspense and excitement.
At 65 minutes, the match entered the decisive phase. Al Nassr was once again given a penalty by the referee, and Fabinho, the former Liverpool midfielder, received a second yellow card for fouling Otavio. In this particular case, Al-Maiouf correctly predicted Ronaldo’s shot to the right wing, but the Al Ittihad goalkeeper was unable to successfully block the shot.
In the remaining time, Al Nassr quickly scored 2 more goals thanks to their advantage over the opponent. After Talisca made a clearance pass, Sadio Mane had the opportunity to put the ball into an empty net. In a counter-attack situation very similar to the one that happened in the 82nd minute, the Senegalese striker scored a double. Al Ittihad suffered injuries to players on the field, causing them to lose focus on defense, which was the thread running through both of these goals.
The fact that Al Nassr still has an away trip to Al Taawoun Stadium scheduled to take place before the end of 2023 shows that Ronaldo still has a chance to improve his performance. They have now narrowed the gap with leading team Al Hilal to 7 points thanks to this victory. Meanwhile, Al Ittihad is currently ranked 6th with 28 points, 15 points behind Al Nassr.