Cristiano Ronaldo closes in on 1,000 goals after brace in Al Nassr victory

Dubai: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice against Al Hazem to fire Al Nassr to the top of the Saudi Pro League, with the brace carrying significant personal milestones for the Portuguese superstar.

The goals made the 41-year-old the first player in football history to reach 500 goals after turning 30, pushing his overall career tally to 964 — just 36 shy of the landmark 1,000-goal mark.

The victory came shortly after a turbulent spell for Ronaldo, who had missed two league matches earlier this month following a dispute with the club over lack of signings in the January transfer window.

Post match, Ronaldo said, "As I've said so many times, I belong to Saudi Arabia. It's a country that welcomed me, as well as my family and friends.

"I'm happy here and want to continue here. The most important this is we keep pushing. We keep doing out job and how we have the best result," he added.

Impressive run

Against Al Hazem, Ronaldo broke the deadlock after 13 minutes. Kingsley Coman offered the assist and the Al Nassr captain finished it in style into the far corner.

Al Nassr doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark when João Felix set up Coman after a slick passing move. Ronaldo then had a goal ruled out for offside just before the break. Angelo extended the lead to three in the 77th minute with an impressive individual run from inside his own half, and Ronaldo wrapped up his brace with 10 minutes remaining. “Back where we belong,” Ronaldo posted on social media after the match. “Now back to work.”

Al Nassr’s rise to the summit was aided by Al Hilal being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Al Ittihad.