Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Al Nassr defeated Al Ahli 4-3 in Riyadh on Friday in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo scored early in both half to bookend the scoring for Al Nassr, who held off repeated comeback attempts from their star-studded rivals.
After being found by ex-Liverpool forward Sadio Mané, the Portugal legend opened the score in the fourth minute with a low left-footed drive. In the 52nd minute, he scored Al Nassr’s fourth goal with another clinical finish with his left foot after a clever turn on the edge of the penalty box.
In the first half, Brazilian attacker Anderson Talisca scored two goals, the first from the penalty spot and the second with a fantastic strike off the underside of the crossbar.
Al Ahli came within a single goal of the home team three times. Former Barcelona player Franck Kessié scored in the first half, and Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez converted a penalty in the second, before substitute Feras Al-Brikan made it 4-3 in the 87th minute.
After losing their first two games of the season, Al Nassr has now won five consecutive league games. With this current victory, they have equaled Al Ahli in points and moved up to fifth in the Saudi Pro League standings.
Al Nassr and Al Ahli are two of four clubs taken acquired by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) ahead of a summer of expenditure that saw several European stars relocate to the Saudi Pro League.
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