Cristiano Ronaldo Leads Al Nassr to 2-1 Victory Over Al Taawoun

Cristiano Ronaldo struck the decisive blow on Friday night as Al Nassr clung to their perfect start in the Saudi Pro League, grinding out a 2-1 comeback win over Al Taawoun.

Four games, four wins. But this one, like the last, came the hard way.

Al Nassr forced to rally again

Ange Postecoglou’s side arrived still buzzing from their wild 3-2 victory over Al Ettifaq on Tuesday, when they overturned a two-goal deficit despite playing with 10 men. Goalkeeper Bento saw red, Al Nassr trailed 2-0 at the break, and Postecoglou responded with a ruthless call: he sacrificed Ronaldo. The reshuffle worked. Three goals in the final 16 minutes flipped the game and kept the early-season momentum rolling.

This time, Ronaldo stayed on for the full 90. The jeopardy, though, returned almost immediately.

Al Taawoun struck first in the 11th minute, Mohammed Bassam Al Hurayji punishing hesitant defending to put the visitors ahead and silence the home crowd. Al Nassr, once again, were chasing.

They pushed, probed, and finally broke through right on the cusp of halftime. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Samú Costa found the equalizer, dragging Al Nassr level in the fifth added minute and changing the mood entirely as the players headed down the tunnel.

Ronaldo’s instinct decides it

With the score locked at 1-1 and tension rising, Ronaldo’s moment arrived early in the second half.

Al Nassr built down the left, João Félix bursting into the Al Taawoun area with a sharp, driving run. His cutback rolled to the edge of the box, where Mohamed Simakan met it cleanly and sent a low effort arrowing toward the bottom corner.

Then Ronaldo intervened.

Stationed six yards out, the Portugal star instinctively flicked the ball, diverting it past the goalkeeper in the 50th minute. It was credited as his 978th career goal, another number added to a staggering tally, another winner to his catalogue.

Simakan could hardly believe it. Replays showed his original strike was already heading for the corner, but Ronaldo had applied the final touch and wheeled away in trademark celebration as the stadium erupted. The defender’s disbelief told its own story; the scoreboard told a simpler one.