In Riyadh, after a kick-off delayed by around an hour following the interception of a ballistic missile above the city, Cristiano Ronaldo found the net again as Al-Nassr beat Neftchi Fargona 3-1 in the Asian Champions League.
The Ligue 1 news
There was no Ligue 1 involvement in Monday night’s match, but a familiar former French-league presence shaped the decisive moment. Sadio Mané delivered from the left, while Ayman Yahya — introduced in the 13th minute after Kingsley Coman suffered an injury — controlled the ball with his chest into Ronaldo’s path.
The Portuguese forward struck a fierce volley beyond Uzbek goalkeeper Botirali Ergashev in the 42nd minute. It was Al-Nassr’s second goal of the evening and Ronaldo’s 981st in professional football.
Ronaldo, 41, had been provisionally suspended by Portugal only two days earlier, yet needed little time to resume scoring for his club. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is now 19 goals short of the 1,000-goal landmark, a total no player has previously reached in the professional game.
