WATCH: Cristiano Ronaldo scores free-kick for Al-Nassr in SPL clash against Al-Feiha
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 64th direct free-kick of his career to make it 2-0 for Al-Nassr in their Saudi Pro League match against Al-Feiha on Tuesday, August 27. Al-Feiha conceded a free-kick right on the edge of the penalty box when Anderson Talisca was fouled at the cusp of half-time.
The Brazilian forward played some intricate passes with Ronaldo before being clipped by an Al-Feiha defender in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time.
Al-Feiha set a huge wall in front of Cristiano Ronaldo as he positioned himself to take the set-piece. With the entire stadium's eyes fixated on the Portuguese icon, he lobbed the ball over the wall and into the net.
The entire stadium erupted as Cristiano Ronaldo took off to perform his iconic 'Siu' celebration with the crowd.
Ronaldo and Talisca had earlier linked up in the fifth minute of the game to give the Knights of Najd an early lead. A sideways flick was enough for Cristiano Ronaldo to hoodwink the Al-Feiha backline and find Talisca with just the goalkeeper to beat. The latter made no mistake and deposited the ball into the net.
Cristiano Ronaldo's free-kick record over the years
Ronaldo's first goal for Manchester United came from a free-kick. During his initial stint at Old Trafford, Ronaldo scored some outrageous free-kicks and popularized the iconic knuckleball technique.
The Portuguese ended his stay at Manchester United with five free-kick goals in each of his last two seasons. In 2009, Ronaldo went to Real Madrid and scored 24 free-kicks in his first five seasons with Los Blancos. However, his last four seasons at the club produced just nine free-kick goals. Ronaldo went to Juventus in 2018 and scored just one direct free-kick in three seasons for the Italian giants.
Ronaldo's decline in free-kick conversions is also because he started attempting fewer direct free-kicks in the latter half of his career. He played with several free-kick specialists like Gareth Bale, Paulo Dybala, and Miralem Pjanic, who would handle dead ball situations.
Al-Nassr will play Al-Ahli next in the Saudi Pro League on September 13.