Al-Nasr, led by its Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, recorded a strong return after the international break, with its deserved victory over Al-Diriyah by three, in the match that brought them together at Al-Awal Park Stadium, in the eighth round of the Saudi Professional League.
Al-Nasr raised its score to 19 points in runner-up, equal to Al-Qadisiyah, which is the “temporarily” leader, while Al-Diriyah remained on its previous score of 11 points in ninth place.
Captain Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, Samu Costa added the second goal in the 35th minute, and Koeman in the 77th minute.
Ronaldo reached goal No. 980 in his football career, making him 20 goals away from reaching 1,000 goals in his career.
Ronaldo's 980th goal in his career came amid great tension between him and Jesus, the coach of the Portuguese national team, which resulted in the player's departure from his country's national team camp during the recent international break. This prompted the Nasraouans to raise a giant banner in celebration of the Portuguese star, while thousands of fans raised pictures and slogans of the player, who exchanged greetings with his fans and celebrated with them immediately after the end of the match.
On Friday, the “Green Women” won their friendly match against Malaysia with a double, at the “Aspire Academy” stadium, as part of their preparatory camp in the Qatari capital, Doha, which continues until Wednesday.
Saba Tawfiq opened the scoring in the 87th minute, and her colleague Mubaraka Mohamed added the second goal in the 89th minute.
The “Green Women” will play a second meeting with its Malaysian counterpart next Tuesday, with the aim of raising technical and physical readiness, and giving the players the opportunity to participate in international confrontations that contribute to developing performance and enhancing harmony within the team.
English top scorer Ivan Toney, Al-Ahly striker, continued his brilliance in the Saudi Professional League, after scoring his 11th goal during the first eight rounds of the season, equaling the number achieved by Syrian Omar Al-Somah with an Al-Ahly shirt in the 2016-2017 season, confirming his presence at the forefront of the offensive scene, and giving his team additional strength in the local competition.
Tony's brilliance is not limited to the number of goals scored, as he tops the list of top scorers in the "League" with 11 goals, and is also unique in the top scoring contributions with 12 contributions, after he added a decisive pass to his record, an indication of his direct influence on Al-Ahly's offensive effectiveness, during the past rounds.
The English striker provides remarkable numbers in various scoring conditions, as he scored 7 goals excluding penalty kicks, in addition to scoring 4 goals from the penalty spot, topping the list of players who scored the most from free kicks of this type, according to the numbers recorded until the end of the eighth round.
Tony also tops the list of players who have scored the most doubles, having achieved this in 3 matches, in addition to scoring one “hat-trick”, while he scored 7 goals at home for his team, and 4 goals outside of it, which reflects his continued scoring presence on all fronts.
