Cristiano Ronaldo netted his third consecutive goal since returning from his team’s boycott, helping Al Nassr clinch a dominant 5-0 victory over last-place Al Najma and reclaim the top spot in the Saudi Pro League on Wednesday.
Ronaldo began the scoring with a penalty kick in the seventh minute, followed by goals from Kingsley Coman and Iñigo Martínez, who each added to the scoreline to give Al Nassr a comfortable 3-0 lead by halftime.
In the second half, Sadio Mané scored early, prompting Al Nassr manager Jorge Jesus to start substituting key players, including Ronaldo, who currently has 20 goals this season—just three behind Al Ahli‘s Ivan Toney in the pursuit of the Saudi Golden Boot.
This victory marked Al Nassr’s 19th win of the season in the SPL, bringing their total points to 58 from 23 matches. They have suffered only one loss in the league thus far and maintain a two-point lead over second-placed Al Ahli.
Ronaldo had previously missed matches against Al Ittihad and Al Riyadh earlier this month due to his dissatisfaction with the club’s lack of financial support during the recent transfer window.
The Portuguese star expressed frustration towards the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) for not investing in the team, especially as rivals like Al Hilal—also 75% owned by PIF—made significant acquisitions, including signing his former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema from Al Ittihad.