ISTANBUL
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first official goal for Al Nassr after converting a late penalty in the Saudi Pro League match against Al-Fateh.
Al Fateh’s two goals came from Cristian Tello and Sofiane Bendebka respectively in the 12th and 58th minutes at their home ground Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium.
Anderson Talisca scored Al Nassr’s first goal in the 42nd minute while Ronaldo netted a 93-minute penalty kick.
Al Nassr were down to 10 men after Talisca received a red card in the stoppage time.
With this result, Al Nassr remained at the top of the standings with 34 points in 15 matches.
Ronaldo previously produced two goals in a friendly game against Paris Saint-Germain as the Saudi club tasted a 5-4 defeat.
Ronaldo blamed for defeat in his 2nd match with Al Nassr
Al Nassr head coach Rudi Garcia blamed Ronaldo for the team’s exit in the semifinal of the Saudi Super Cup last week.
Al Ittihad eliminated Al-Nassr by a score of 3-1 as Ronaldo failed to produce a goal.
The Portuguese superstar attempted to score in the 43rd minute but his powerful header was blocked by goalie Marcelo Grohe.
“One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano’s missed opportunity in the first half,” said Garcia after the semifinal exit.
Ronaldo became a free agent in November after his contract with Manchester United was terminated by mutual agreement because of disputes he had with manager Erik Ten Hag.
