Ronaldo double downs Damac | OneFootball

A man-of-the-match performance from Cristiano Ronaldo saw Al Nassr cruise past Damac 2-0 on a cold Friday evening in Riyadh.

The Portuguese legend was at his clinical best to help the Riyadh side climb back into third place, with two of their direct rivals, fifth-placed Al Shabab and second-placed Al Hilal, locking horns on Saturday.

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The hosts at Al Awwal Park were gifted the perfect opportunity early on when a Nawaf Boushal cross from the left was handled inside the away penalty area by Damac centre-back Abdelkader Bedrane, prompting the referee to point to the spot. With 17 minutes on the clock, Ronaldo confidently stepped up and powered his spot-kick into the bottom corner for his eighth goal of the 2024-25 RSL season - and 914th career goal.

Al Nassr could have doubled their lead in the 34th minute when Ronaldo picked the ball up on the edge of the Damac box and produced a moment of magic to back-heel it into the path of Sadio Mane, but the former Liverpool forward was denied by an exceptional save from rival goalkeeper Amin Bukhari.

Bedrane’s torrid outing in the capital came to an abrupt conclusion in the 54th minute, after the Algerian planted his studs into the shin of Mohamed Simakan, forcing the Frenchman off the pitch and joining him on the way out with a straight red card.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo’s night went from good to great with 11 minutes remaining, the Portuguese star getting on the end of a Boushal cut-back from the byline and converting first time with his left to put the hosts 2-0 up.

Goal No.915 in all for Ronaldo also marked his ninth in 11 RSL appearances this season, placing him behind only Al Hilal’s Aleksandar Mitrovic (12) as he pursues a retention of the top-scorer accolade he won last term with a league-record 35 goals.

Al Nassr now await the result of their two neighbours in the derby before taking on leaders Al Ittihad next week, while Damac, who have slipped into the bottom half, need to regroup ahead of home match against Al Fayha.