A look at the photos... Ronaldo celebrates his 100th goal...

The standout match of the round was Al-Nasr’s resounding 5-2 victory over Al-Najma on Friday at Al-Awal Park.

Despite the emphatic win, the match was full of excitement, particularly towards the end of the first half, when Al-Najma, bottom of the table, took the lead against Al-Nasr, the league leaders, before the latter responded with two quick goals.

Al-Nassr’s equaliser came courtesy of Abdullah Al-Hamdan in first-half stoppage time, but even more exciting than the goal itself was the celebration.

After scoring, Al-Hamdan quickly got the ball and pointed to Al-Nassr’s crest, holding up his finger to form the number 1, signifying the ‘Al-Alamy’s’ superiority over their rivals.

This celebration was met with great delight among Al-Nassr fans, particularly as the player had only joined the team two months earlier, having moved from their traditional rivals Al-Hilal.

In the next attack, Senegalese forward Sadio Mané scored Al-Nassr’s second goal, before also netting the team’s fifth and his second in second-half stoppage time.

Mané continued to prove his importance to Al-Nassr this season, particularly with Portuguese star João Félix missing the match through suspension.

The other brace went to Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored both goals: the third from the penalty spot and the fourth with a superb strike from inside the penalty area.

Ronaldo celebrated in the best possible way as he reached his 100th match for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, having joined the club in January 2023 on a free transfer following the termination of his contract with Manchester United.

With this, the “Madeira Rocket” has now scored his 97th goal for Al-Nassr in the Roshen League, leaving him just three goals away from reaching another century in the competition, this time in terms of goals scored.

But there is no doubt that all those negative feelings had completely vanished from Ronaldo after he scored a brace, secured victory for his team, and extended their lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League.

This was evident in ‘El Don’, who made a point of going over to the Al-Nassr fans after the match to celebrate with them in his usual manner following a victory, with the rest of the team following behind him.

In contrast, Al-Hilal were held to a 2-2 draw by Al-Taawoun on Saturday at the Kingdom Arena, complicating their title challenge in the Saudi Pro League.

The draw took Al-Hilal’s tally to 65 points, but they now trail leaders Al-Nassr by five points and are ahead of third-placed Al-Ahli only on goal difference, with seven matches remaining.

Despite the setback, Ivorian striker Mohamed Kader Miti enjoyed one of his best nights recently, having scored Al-Hilal’s opening goal just before half-time.

The goal was Miti’s first since joining Al-Hilal last January, in his fifth appearance for the team and his first as a starter in the Roshen League.

Strangely, the Ivorian striker was not originally due to feature in the match, but a sudden injury to Frenchman Karim Benzema just before kick-off gave him the chance to play – and subsequently score.

Al-Hilal’s second goal was scored by Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo, who brought the team level, but it wasn’t enough to secure victory in the end.

Leonardo himself squandered several chances before scoring the equaliser, one of which would have been enough to give Al-Hilal a 2-0 lead, following Miti’s direct free-kick.

There is no doubt that all these factors caused Al-Hilal’s Italian manager, Simone Inzaghi, to fly into a rage on the touchline whilst standing in the technical area.

However, his anger reached its peak when his defender Hassan Tambakti squandered a chance to score the equaliser, immediately after Al-Taawoun had taken the lead, whilst the goal was unguarded with Mailsom off his line.

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