Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates reunion with Benzema with the 947th goal of his career
The Portuguese maintains his goalscoring instinct and leads Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia
Cristiano Ronaldo was once again a protagonist in Saudi football. The Portuguese striker scored his 947th professional goal in Al Nassr Riyadh's 2-0 victory over Al-Ittihad, in a match that brought together two old Real Madrid acquaintances: Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
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The match had a distinctly nostalgic tone. However, the Portuguese forward's competitiveness won out over the melancholy of the reunion. Cristiano Ronaldo made no mistake in the box, scoring the second goal of the match with a header after an assist from Sadio Mane on the stroke of halftime.
With this goal, he reached four goals this season, just one behind Joao Felix, the current top scorer in the tournament.
A solid Al Nassr and an Al-Ittihad without answers
The victory consolidates Al Nassr at the top of the standings with a perfect record of victories in the first four matchdays. The introduction of Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman has transformed the Saudi team's attack, which now offers Cristiano a constant flow of balls inside and out on the wings. Furthermore, the arrival of defender Inigo Martinez has provided greater solidity at the back, closing the gaps that had been a recurring problem last season.
In this match, Mane opened the scoring with an impeccable volley inside the box in the tenth minute, following an individual move by Coman on the right flank. Felix, although he didn't find the target, was decisive in pressing and creating space, exposing the opposing defense.
In contrast, Benzema had a mediocre performance. The Frenchman looked isolated and with few options, unable to generate any real danger against a defense that controlled him from start to finish. He barely showed a glimpse of quality with a technical shot, which was disallowed for offside.
During the second half, Al Nassr maintained control without any problems. Cristiano came close to scoring his second of the night,although he missed a clear chance by sending the ball over the bar from close range.