“When you are number one in the world, everything is possible” - Cristiano Ronaldo receives special praise from Luis Castro after Al-Nassr win
Al-Nassr boss Luis Castro has hailed his attacker Cristiano Ronaldo for his sublime strike against Al Okhdood in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday (November 24).
Sami Al Najei opened the scoring for Castro's side after 13 minutes as the hosts went into the break a goal up. Thirteen minutes from time, Ronaldo fired in from a narrow angle from the right to double Al-Nassr's advantage. However, just three minutes later, he would outdo himself by scoring an even better goal.
After Paulo Vitor, the Okhdood goalkeeper came out of his box to make a clearance, the ball fell kindly to Ronaldo. Taking a touch, the 38-year-old unleashed a sublime lob from 40 yards out that sailed into the unguarded Okhdood net. Hailing the quality of the strike, Castro said (as per National News):
“Goals and Cristiano are a perfect mix (locking his fingers). The second goal, Cristiano shows perfect vision. It’s very difficult to do this, but Cristiano is different. When you are number one in the world, everything is possible.
He added:
“Cristiano is a fantastic player. Cristiano has had fantastic moments this season and it’s just natural for him. He is a pleasure to work with in training and playing.”
The win propelled Al-Nassr to within a point of second-placed Al-Hilal, who rode a Malcolm hat-trick on Saturday to pummel Al-Hazm 9-0 and restore their four-point lead atop the standings after 14 games.
What did the Okhdood boss say about Al-Nassr striker Cristiano Ronaldo's wonder strike?
Al-Nassr attacker Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the game's best players and most lethal goalscorers. Ronaldo has scored over 850 goals for club and country and is still going strong.
Despite being almost 40, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner provided another instance of his eye for goal with a strike of jaw-dropping quality. That also drew praise from the Okhdood boss Martin Sevela, who hailed Ronaldo:
As per the aforementioned source, the Slovakian said:
“Al Nassr’s players are high quality. The first goal, it’s a good first touch by Ronaldo and good strike. The second it was high quality from Ronaldo. He only needed one touch and to score that goal is difficult. He is high quality. He is 38 years old, but he is top level.”
Ronaldo has 18 goals and nine assists in 18 games across competitions for Al-Alami this season.