Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 981st career goal as Al-Nassr defeated Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana 3-1 in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday, moving within 19 goals of the 1,000-goal milestone.
The 41-year-old Portuguese forward struck in the 42nd minute at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh to double his side’s advantage after Angelo Gabriel opened the scoring nine minutes earlier.
According to Reuters, the goal followed a move involving Sadio Mane and Aiman Yahya.
Reuters reported: “The 41-year-old struck after Sadio Mane delivered a looping cross from the left that Aiman Yahya directed into Ronaldo’s path with his chest and the Portuguese forward lashed the ball into the bottom corner with a shot on the turn.”
The match was delayed by about an hour after Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence issued a security alert shortly before the scheduled kick-off. Reuters reported that the delay was linked to security concerns amid missile threats from Yemen-based Houthi rebels.
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When play eventually began, Angelo gave Al-Nassr the lead in the 33rd minute before Ronaldo extended the advantage shortly before half-time.
Neftchi pulled a goal back six minutes after the restart through Alisher Odilov, but their hopes of completing a comeback suffered a major setback when Ikromjon Alibaev was sent off in the 65th minute for fouling Mohamed Simakan.
Al-Nassr secured the victory in the 78th minute when Neftchi’s Anvarjon Gofurov scored an own goal to make it 3-1.
The result gave Al-Nassr their first points in the 2026/27 AFC Champions League Elite campaign after they lost 4-0 to UAE side Al-Ain in their opening match.
Ronaldo had entered Monday’s fixture on the back of scoring his 980th career goal in Al-Nassr’s 3-0 victory over Diriyah in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner opened the scoring in the 23rd minute at Al-Awwal Park, converting a rebound after goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah parried Kingsley Coman’s powerful effort.
Ronaldo continues to pursue the milestone of 1,000 career goals for club and country, having moved to 981 with his latest strike.
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