Cristiano Ronaldo Scores 978th Career Goal in Al Nassr Win
In Riyadh on Friday night, Cristiano Ronaldo ended his recent substitution troubles. He led Al Nassr to a 2-1 come-from-behind win against Al Taawoun at Al-Awwal Park and moved within 22 goals of the 1,000-goal milestone. The Portuguese forward had clearly become annoyed when Ange Postecoglou replaced him at the interval in the earlier 3-2 win over Al Ettifaq. This time, he was the one to provide the deciding moment. Al Taawoun scored first in the 11th minute as Mohammed Bassam Al Hurayji took advantage of the hosts' early defensive errors to get the goal. Al Nassr tried to catch up during the first half, but it wasn't until five minutes into first-half stoppage time that they equalised. Samú Costa scored the goal.  The turning point came a short time after half-time. Joao Felix started the attack by running directly down the left wing, cut into the penalty area and then played the ball back towards the edge of the box. Mohamed Simakan responded with a low shot directed straight at the bottom corner. Ronaldo positioned himself six yards from goal and guided the ball past the goalkeeper to complete the turnaround. Online replays sparked debate over whether Simakan's original shot had already gone over the line. Ronaldo accepted the touch, bringing his career total to 978. Another aspect of the celebrations stood out. At first, Ronaldo just gave his teammates a quiet hug. Then Sadio Mané asked him to do something as captain. Ronaldo immediately turned to the crowd at Al-Awwal Park and carried out his usual 'Siu' celebration. The win marks a perfect start for Postecoglou in Riyadh. Al Nassr now lead the Saudi Pro League after obtaining 12 points from their first four matches. For Ronaldo, the campaign to reach four figures continues with a strong boost in momentum.
