Saudi Pro League: Ronaldo's 978th Goal Seals Win as Al-Nassr Claim Fourth Straight Victory to Go Top

In a dramatic encounter, Al-Nassr beat Al-Tai 2-1 at home to extend their winning streak in the new Saudi Pro League season to four matches. Ronaldo, now in his forties, once again proved the decisive spearhead up front, helping his side come out on top in a series of hard-fought battles—just days earlier, they had pulled off a thrilling 3-2 comeback.

In that match, Al-Nassr found themselves on the back foot from the start: goalkeeper Bento was sent off, and they trailed by two goals before half-time, with the coaching staff even forced to substitute Ronaldo early. But the final 16 minutes saw a dramatic shift as the team scored three goals to complete a breathtaking comeback.

This time, Ronaldo played the full match but could only watch as the visitors scored first. In the 11th minute, Al-Tai took the lead through Bassam Al-Hurayji. Al-Nassr then patiently hunted for chances and finally equalized in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time through Samu Costa. After the restart, in the 50th minute, Ronaldo seized a chance in front of goal to score his 978th career goal and put his side ahead.

The winning goal came from a series of delicate passes down the left flank: João Félix broke into the box and cut the ball back, Mohamed Simakan met it with a powerful strike, the ball racing toward the far corner at great speed—but Ronaldo, at the six-yard line, lightly flicked it into the net. Simakan stared in disbelief as Ronaldo turned to celebrate; slow-motion replays showed that his shot had been heading for the corner. Thanks to that goal, Al-Nassr topped the standings with a perfect record of four wins from four matches.