Cristiano Ronaldo took his place front and centre in the headlines in the Saudi Pro League on Friday evening.
CR7, of course, opted to take his talents to Asia late last year.
After coming to an agreement on the termination of his contract with Manchester United, the Portuguese international left his legendary European career in the rear view, to put pen to paper on a lucrative deal with Saudi giants Al-Nassr.
Widely expected to take the nation by storm, however, Ronaldo’s time in Riyadh has since gotten off to an inauspicious start.
After netting twice in a friendly meeting with French champions Paris Saint-Germain, the 37-year-old subsequently blanked on both his competitive debut, and last time out against Al-Ittihad in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup.
Safe to say, then, that the pressure was beginning to mount on the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to step up to the plate.
Trailing by two goals to one in a meeting with Al Fateh at the Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium, Al-Nassr looked well on their way to just a 2nd defeat of the campaign.
With a full three minutes of injury time on the clock, though, the evening’s visitors were afforded a chance to level things up from the penalty spot.
Step forth, Cristiano Ronaldo…
The iconic attacker, as has so often proved the case across his career, took responsibility when it mattered most, slotting home from 12 yards in confident fashion to secure a share of the spoils for Al-Nassr:
Cristiano Ronaldo scores his first Al-Nassr goal. It’s an injury-time penalty to salvage a point at Al-Fateh.🎯
🎥 via @ssc_sports pic.twitter.com/rG77aEQN5S
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) February 3, 2023
Check out all four goals from Friday’s clash in Al-Hasa below:
🎥 أهداف المباراة ⬇️
• الفتح 2 × 2 النصر#الفتح_النصر | #SSC pic.twitter.com/jl04qf6URi
— شركة الرياضة السعودية SSC (@ssc_sports) February 3, 2023
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