What Cristiano Ronaldo said after spearheading Al-Nassr to 4-0 thrashing of Al Shabab
Cristiano Ronaldo hailed his team after his brace helped Al-Nassr to a comprehensive 4-0 win over Al Shahab in the Saudi Pro League at Mrsool Park on Tuesday (August 29).
Continuing his recent blazing form, the 38-year-old put his team two goals to the good against Shahab inside 38 minutes by converting a pair of penalties. In between the two strikes, Ronaldo had another ruled out due to offside in the build-up before setting up Sadio Mane for the third.
In the second half, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner passed up the opportunity to complete back-to-back hat-tricks by allowing Abdulrahman Ghareeb to take the spot-kick. The chance, unfortunately, went begging, and so did the opportunity for the Portuguese maestro to bring up goal No. 850 for club and country.
Nevertheless, with Al-Alami scoring a fourth 10 minutes from time, Ronaldo was subbed off. The forward later hailed the 'fabulous' performance of his team and the 'amazing' atmosphere created by fans, tweeting:
"What an amazing atmosphere in our stadium! Very happy to celebrate this win with our fans! Fantastic performance from the team! Vamooos Al-Nassr!"
Notably, after Ghareeb's missed penalty, Ronaldo had the ball in the back of the net, but the effort was ruled out for offside. The Portuguese then struck the post, with the rebound converted by Sultan Al-Ghannam for Al-Alami's fourth, as a hat-trick wasn't to be.
Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo moves atop Saudi Pro League scoring charts after Al-Shahab brace
After scoring six goals in as many games in Al-Nassr's triumphant Arab Club Champions Cup campaign, Cristiano Ronaldo has been on a tear in the Saudi Pro League this season.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner drew a blank in the 2-1 defeat at El-Ittifaq but opened his league account for the season with a hat-trick in the 5-0 rout at Al Fateh. It was also his first hat-trick for Al-Alami.
Four days later, Ronaldo was at it again, bagging a brace and an assist (Mane). That took his tally to five goals in three league games, which is one clear of the trio of Malcom (Al-Hilal), Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al Ittihad) and his Al-Nassr teammate Sadio Mane.