After more than 21 years of career, with 1,200 matches, Ronaldo has not stopped. He scored the opening goal, then assisted Otavio to increase the score to 2-0 for Al Nassr. Ronaldo and his teammates continue to chase top team Al Hilal with seven points less, while the Portuguese captain continues to conquer new milestones.

Ronaldo (right) celebrates a goal with Otavio in the match Al Nassr won 4-1 against Al Riyadh at Al Awal Park in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia on the evening of December 8, 2023. Photo: ANFC

The turning point in the match came in the 31st minute, when Sadio Mane hung the ball from the left for Ronaldo to break the offside trap and dive into his right foot with one touch at a distance of 5 meters to open the score. He celebrated the 868th goal of his career with a familiar spinning dance, also ending two silent matches.

Not only did he score, Ronaldo also assisted compatriot Otavio to increase the score to 2-0 in the first half. Receiving the ball on the right side of the penalty area and after a few turns of foot, the Portuguese superstar crossed in and Otavio jumped down and headed towards the far corner. After his teammates scored, Ronaldo waved his fist high in celebration, then waited for his teammates to run to share the joy.

After round 16, Ronaldo led the list of both scoring and assisting in the Saudi League, with 16 goals and 8 assists in just 15 matches. On average, each match, the 38-year-old striker scores 1.6 goals.

In addition to the home team’s first two goals, Ronaldo also participated in many offensive plays. In the 12th minute, his beautiful volley in the penalty area was cleared by defender Birama Toure right on the goal line. The referee took a lot of time to review the situation before determining that the ball had not crossed the line.

Ronaldo also missed a few crosses from Mane, the hosts’ main offensive weapon. The Senegal star was equally impressive in this match, with a solo goal on the left side of the penalty area in the 67th minute, before crossing for Anderson Talisca to tap the ball into the far corner to increase the score to 3-0.

Al Riyadh has just been promoted to the Saudi League this season, and Google has not yet displayed the team logo. According to the Opta strength index , Al Riyadh ranks 956th in the world, 862 places behind Al Nassr. However, the away team still scored a goal in the 68th minute thanks to Andre Gray, which was also their only shot in the match.

That was not enough for the away team to create a surprise against Al Nassr, and the home team scored another goal thanks to Talisca in second half stoppage time. Ronaldo significantly reduced the frequency of his movements in this half, because three days later he and his teammates will continue to play the King Cup quarterfinals against Al Shabab.