In Saudi Arabia, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Al Nassr duty with a landmark closer in sight. The Portuguese forward, 41, scored in a 3-0 league win over Diriyah on Friday, taking his career total to 980 goals — 20 short of the 1,000 target he has set for himself.
The news from the club
Ronaldo had left Portugal’s national-team camp abruptly on 30 September, but found a brighter evening with Al Nassr as the Riyadh side moved level at the top of the Saudi league standings.
His first effort of the match, in the ninth minute, was ruled out after the assistant referee judged him to have started the move from an offside position. He did not have to wait long for a valid goal. In the 23rd minute, Kingsley Coman’s shot was stopped by Diriyah goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah, with Ronaldo reacting first to the rebound to put Al Nassr ahead.
Samu Costa doubled the advantage 12 minutes later, finishing after João Félix supplied the ball. Coman then completed the scoring in the 77th minute, converting a Sadio Mané assist.
Former Barcelona defender Íñigo Martínez started again for Al Nassr, whose victory brought them level on points with Al Qadsiah at the summit.
Al Qadsiah, where former Real Madrid centre-back Nacho Fernández plays, also won on Friday, delivering a 5-0 away result against Al Kholood to maintain their place alongside Al Nassr at the head of the table.
