Al-Nassr 2-0 Damac: Ronaldo scores twice as Pioli’s side bounce back

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a double as Al-Nassr defeated 10-man Damac 2-0 to fall five points behind Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Ittihad.

Stefano Pioli's side suffered their first defeat of the season against Al-Qadsiah last week, but bounced back with an impressive win against Damac, who were unbeaten in three league matches.

Ronaldo scored his first goal from the penalty spot in the 17th minute after Otavio's header struck the arms of Damac centre-back Abdelkader Bedrane.

The away side's hopes of a comeback were dashed when Bedrane stamped on Mohamed Simakan and the referee showed the red card following a VAR check 11 minutes into the second half.

The 39-year-old sealed the win in the 79th minute, curling back from left-back Nawaf Boushal for his ninth league goal of the season.

Al-Nassr are third in the table, level on 25 points, with Al-Qadsiah behind them, while Damac are eleventh with 14 points from twelve games.

Leader Al-Ittihad will play against Al-Ettifaq on Saturday, hoping to gain further lead at the top.

|| Full-time, @AlNassrFC 2:0 #DamacRonaldo pic.twitter.com/EEO18uyoDB

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) November 29, 2024

Data debrief: 915 goals and counting

Ronaldo's latest goal takes him to 915 career goals, of which 452 have been achieved since he turned 30. It was also the first time he had scored more than once in the league this season.

The Portugal international scored 35 goals in 31 games for Al-Nassr in last season's SPL, with only Al-Hilal's Aleksandar Mitrovic (12 goals) scoring more than his nine this season.

Ronaldo has now also scored six goals from four games against Damac in the Saudi top flight.