International Football
The Portuguese player scored another goal, but it was disallowed, and he then hit the post.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his goal against Al Faysaly.AL NASSR
IRATI PRAT / RYAN MITCHELL
Updated
Al Nassr did not disappoint on their visit to Harmah. Postecoglou’s team won 1-3, led by an omnipresent Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star, who scored the 0-2 goal (his 982nd career goal), also had another goal disallowed and hit the post once, in addition to seeing Pacheco deny him a goal in another series of plays. Al Nassr remains near the top of the standings, battling Al Qadsiah, Al Hilal, and Al Ittihad for first place.
Despite Al Hamdan’s fine goal four minutes in—a well-placed shot from the edge of the box—Al Nassr is struggling more to win this season under Postecoglou than it did in 2025–26 under Jorge Jesus, when it won the championship. Al Faysaly put pressure on CR7’s team, which took a while to find its best form. The Madeira native, in fact, was barely noticeable in the first half. His best chance came just past the half-hour mark, off a pass from João Félix, with a shot across the goal that hit the woodwork.
Cristiano Ronaldo waves Saudi flag scarf after missile alert delays Al-Nassr match in Riyadh
It could have been a double
It was, however, in the second half when Al Nassr really “came into their own.” And that’s when Cristiano Ronaldo began to shine. The Portuguese star scored his 982nd goal with a great header off a pinpoint cross from João Félix on a free kick from the sideline. It was 0-2. Three minutes later, he scored the third on a counterattack… but VAR reviewed the play and disallowed the goal due to a prior offside by Al Hamdan.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates his goal against Al Faysaly.AL NASSR
The home team had its moment after Spanish player Jaime Seoane and former Celta player Theo Bongonda entered the game. It was the Belgian, in fact, who—in an isolated play—made it 1-2 with a header. But Al Nassr had taken control of the game’s rhythm and wasn’t about to let the match slip away. Fernando Pacheco, the goalkeeper for the Harmah team, made a great save against CR7 when the Portuguese star was looking to score his third goal of the match… and it was Angelo, ultimately, following a nice team play, who sealed the victory after the “cooling break.”
With this victory, Al Nassr has tied Al Qadsiah for first place... pending Brendan Rodgers' team's match tonight against Al Hilal, which is currently in third place.