Cristiano Ronaldo has made a goalscoring return to Saudi Pro League action as Al-Nassr earned a hard-fought 2-1 win against Al-Fateh on Saturday (February 17).
Ronaldo scored the opener in the 17th minute. After being found by Sultan Al-Ghannam, the 39-year-old rifled his shot from inside the area to the back of the Al-Fateh net.
It was his 21st league goal in 19 games this season. Overall, Ronaldo has 26 goals and 11 assists in 27 games across competitions.
Watch Ronaldo's goal:
Despite the club captain striking early, Luis Castro's team had to toil for the three points. Salem Al-Najdi equalised for Al-Fateh in the 29th minute as Slaven Bilic's team threatened the Knights of Najd on multiple occasions.
However, they were punished for their profligacy as Otavio saved Al-Nassr's blushes with a bullet header in the 72nd minute. Ronaldo showed some impressive build-up play to find Al-Ghannam out wide. The full-back whipped in a perfect delivery, which Otavio connected well with his head.
Al-Nassr have won back-to-back games across competitions since the resumption of the season following the winter break. They are second in the Saudi Pro League with 49 points from 20 games, trailing Al-Hilal, who have a game in hand, by four points.
Cristiano Ronaldo inching closer to 900 career goals
Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time highest goalscorer in the history of the beautiful game. Despite recently turning 39, he remains a lethal finisher, as his last two club performances prove.
Ronaldo's strike against Al-Fateh was his 875th career goal for club and country. After becoming the first player to score 800 career goals, Ronaldo is in touching distance of reaching the 900-goal mark.
He has scored 412 goals after turning 30, a remarkable number, which is one more than what the legendary Thierry Henry scored during his entire career.