Al Nassr beat Al Ittihad by 4-2 in the Saudi Pro League match on Monday (May 27). Ronaldo scored two goals for the team on this day. And with that, he set the record for scoring the highest goals in a season in the history of the Saudi league.
Apart from Ronaldo, Abdulrahman Gharib and Meshari Al-Nemer scored for Al Nassr. Farah Ali Al Shamrani and Fabinho netted a goal each for Al Ittihad. Before that, however, Shuailem Abdullah Salem Al Manhali left the field after seeing a red card.
The two goals that broke the RSL record for @Cristiano ⚽🔥#yallaRSL pic.twitter.com/kpdbMO3oe0
— Roshn Saudi League (@SPL_EN) May 27, 2024
Al Ittihad, last season’s champions in the Saudi League, could not do justice to the name this season. Against Al Nassr they were without Karim Benzema, the team’s biggest star. However, Benzema has been a shadow of himself this season. The poor performance of the French star is largely responsible for the poor condition of the Etihad.
Match highlight and goals
Al Ittihad made the first good attack in the 24th minute of the match. Winger Al Ghamdi tested his luck with a long-range shot from distance. But his shot was not on target.
Al Nassr went ahead in first half added time. In the fifth minute, the ball was extended to Ronaldo from Al Nassr’s half. A defender of Al Ittihad marked Ronaldo on the left side, but Ronaldo dodged him and sent the ball into the net. It was his 34th goal in the league. This is the joint record for most goals scored in a season in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo could have scored again in the 57th minute of the second half. Gharib went up with the ball and passed it to Ronaldo on the left. Ronaldo also took the shot. But Al Ittihad goalkeeper Al Mahasneh blocked his placing shot.
Ittihad’s Al Manhali saw a red card in the 66th minute. Al Manhali threw away Ronaldo who attacked with the ball. When he committed the foul, there was no one in front of Ronaldo but the goalkeeper. A sure goal chance is wasted on his foul. The referee showed him a red card and sent him off the field.
Ronaldo made history in less than three minutes. Headed the ball from the corner and broke the record for the highest goal in a season in the Saudi League. With 35 goals, Ronaldo is now the highest goal-scorer in a single season in the history of the league.
Player of the match
Cristiano Ronaldo won the title for the player of the match. Not only that, Ronaldo broke the record of Abderrazak Hamdallah, a former player of Al Nassr, by scoring 35 goals in 31 matches. This Moroccan striker scored 34 goals in the 2018-19 season.
I don’t follow the records, the records follow me. 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/rqywmmTfZD
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) May 27, 2024
The season, however, remained a disappointing one for Al-Nassr despite individual brilliance from Ronaldo. They not only failed to win the trophy but also finished a distant second with 82 points, behind eventual winners Al-Hilal (96 points in 34 games).
READ MORE: https://usateller.com/basketball-hall-of-famer-bill-walton-dies-at-71/
