Ronaldo scores twice in Al Nasr win to become top scorer of the year

Cristiano Ronaldo was back in the spotlight following Al Nasr’s 5-2 win over Al Ittihad on Tuesday in the Saudi Arabian Championship. The Portuguese star scored two goals to top the 2023 top scorers list.

Luis Castro’s team, where Otavio also plays, began to lose even before the first quarter of an hour of the match. Hamdallah scored the goal thanks to an assist from Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate Benzema.

The Riyadh team’s response was not long in coming and soon followed thanks to the 38-year-old Portuguese, who converted a penalty in the 19th minute.

Al-Nasr still managed to turn the tide before the end of the first half, combining the former Benfica player and the former Porto player. Brazilian Alex Telles made an assist on the goal of compatriot Anderson Talischi.

In the second half, Hamdallah scored twice and restored equality on the scoreboard in the 52nd minute. The third goal of the Riyadh team would be scored again in the same way as the first.

Ronaldo took the penalty again to score his 53rd goal of the calendar year. If his first goal were to level him with Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe in the list of top scorers in 2023; Having scored twice, he managed to overtake two attackers and take the lead.

Before the end of the match, Senegalese Sadio Mane still had time to score two goals, in the 76th and 82nd minutes, and level the score in the match.

Al-Nasr are second in the Saudi League, seven points behind leaders Al-Hilal, led by Jorge Jesus. Al Ittihad is sixth.

The chance of Ronaldo, who still has one more game to play in 2023, becoming the calendar year’s top scorer at the age of 38 is very real. The closest competitors – Kane and Mbappe – will no longer play. Norwegian Erling Haaland from Manchester City has two more games, but is injured, so it is unknown whether he will return to the field.