Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo (Credits: Twitter)

Al Nassr rallied from a 2-0 deficit as Cristiano Ronaldo scored his side’s winner in the second half, keeping their Saudi Pro League title hopes alive.  With two games left in the season, leaders Al-Ittihad, who defeated Al-Batin 1-0 earlier, would have won the title if second-place Al-Nassr had lost the Riyadh derby, something which appeared extremely likely when Ronaldo’s team found themselves 2-0 down against Al Shabab after 40 minutes.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr overcame a two-goal deficit to upset Al-Shabab 3-2 thanks to a stunning goal from the Portuguese. Despite being the clear favourites to win the Saudi Pro League with two games to go this season, Al Nassr’s win put Al-Ittihad’s title celebrations on hold.

Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo was in no mood of messing up Al Nassr’s title challenge. Credits: Twitter

Cristiano Ronaldo saves Al Nassr the blushes with incredible solo effort

After Al Nassr’s Luiz Gustavo was penalised for handball in the 24th minute, Cristian Guanca scored the game’s first goal from the penalty spot. In the 40th minute, Guanca extended their lead, before Talisca halved the deficit shortly before halftime.

Al Nassr winger Abdulrahman Ghareeb equalised in the 51st minute by slotting the ball home from close range while left unmarked in the area. Cristiano Ronaldo then rolled back the years to find the winner. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward received the ball midway through the Al Shabab half, just before the hour mark.

He then ran past two defenders with ease, turned inside, and superbly curled the ball into the goal from the edge of the box. The winner was Cristiano Ronaldo’s 14th since joining the Saudi outfit following the World Cup. The Al Nassr supporters there erupted in jubilation for their star player, but it was the celebration that player led that won him even greater favour with them.

Cristiano Ronaldo performed a Sujud bow before launching into his signature Siiuuu celebration to honour his surprising victory for Al Nassr. The act of doing a sujud, or low bow or prostration to Allah while facing the qiblah (the direction of the Kabba at Mecca), was performed by Ronaldo.

After that, the 38-year-old then hit his traditional Siiuuu celebration. There are now just two games left in the season for each team, and Al-Nassr is three points behind its opponents despite having a same goal difference but more goals scored. In at least one of their final two games, Al Nassr will be hoping the leaders falter.

While Cristiano Ronaldo and his team will play 10th-place Al Ettifaq before also playing Al Fateh, they still have to play 12th-place Al Feiha and eighth-place Al-Ta’ee. Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s historic tenure with Al Nassr is being highlighted by great performances, and he is still proving that he has got the mettle to shine at the most crucial times.