In round eight of the Saudi Pro League, Al Nassr defeated Al Taee by a score of 2-1 thanks to a penalty kick goal scored by Cristiano Ronaldo. Al Nassr’s victory came at Al Taee’s pitch.
Following Talisca’s header in the Al Taee penalty area in the 87th minute, the referee thought that Alfa Semedo let the ball touch his hand while he was in possession of it. He conceded a penalty, which Al Nassr converted, and Ronaldo scored the game-winning goal. This is Ronaldo’s 10th goal in seven matches since the start of the 2023-2024 Saudi Pro League season, and as a result, he maintains his position as the leader in the race for the top scorer by a margin of four goals in comparison to the group that is following him. When all of his accomplishments throughout all tournaments are taken into account, he has scored 16 goals in 15 outings.
In addition, Ronaldo scored one more goal in this encounter. In the 32nd minute, he began by transferring from the right flank to the center, and then continued by going into the penalty area in order to assist Talisca. The Brazilian player took aim at the goalkeeper Victor Braga and sent a shot into the top right corner to open the scoring.
Both before and after the first goal, it seemed as though Ronaldo was unlucky. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player took a shot in the 12th minute, but it was saved by goalkeeper Braga’s foot. After a cross from the left wing by Sadio Mane in the 14th minute, he also had a poor touch, which caused the ball to go high and wide of the goal.
After halftime, Ronaldo’s play remained just as wayward as it had been. The 38-year-old striker took a free kick against the wall, struck the post while his back was turned to the goalkeeper, then blasted the ball out of an open position. Those near-misses came dangerously close to costing Al Nassr. Virgil Misidjan scored an equalizing goal for Al Taee in the 78th minute after avoiding the offside trap and kicking the ball in the direction of goalkeeper Nawaf Al-Aqidi. The ball then went into the net to make the score 1-1.
This is the result of the home team’s continued efforts to counter-attack the other team. Although Al Taee only had a 42% possession of the ball, he had the same number of shots on goal as Al Nassr.
Ronaldo, though, “spoke up” at the opportune time when the crowd was anticipating the game to end in a tie. After the referee had signaled for a penalty, he scored the game-winning goal by fooling the goalkeeper for Braga while he was standing on the penalty spot. After the game, Ronaldo and his teammates celebrated their victory with the Viking Thunder Clap, which is a well-known method of celebration that was popularized by the Iceland squad at Euro 2016.
Following their success in this match, Al Nassr moved up to the fourth spot in the Saudi Pro League with 18 points. Only two points separate Ronaldo and his colleagues from the team in first place, Al Hilal, and the teams in second and third place, Al Ittihad and Al Taawoun.
Additionally, Al Nassr won their sixth match in a row in the Saudi Pro League with this victory. During that encounter, they were able to score 22 goals while only allowing themselves to concede six. When Al Nassr plays host to Abha and Damac in the upcoming two rounds, the team will have an opportunity to win both of those matches. However, Al Taee is currently ranked 12th with a total of seven points after eight matches, with a record that consists of two victories, one tie, and five losses.
Neymar missed a penalty kick during the game that was part of the same round, but he assisted a goal that contributed to Al Hilal’s victory over Al Shabab by a score of 2-0. In the absence of Karim Benzema owing to an injury, the defending champion Al Ittihad settled for a scoreless draw on the pitch belonging to Al Fayha.
