International Soccer
Cristiano Ronaldo scores a hat trick and gets closer to a Lionel Messi mark
The Portuguese footballer scored three goals in Al Nassr’s 8-0 victory and surpassed a record set by Maradona and is now chasing one by Lionel Messi.
alCristiano Ronaldo scored three goals in Al Nassr’s 8-0 victory. (Free Press Photo: AFP)
Cristiano Ronaldo had a memorable game with the Al Nassr shirt and he scored three goals in his team’s 8-0 victory on Abha, last classified in the Saudi league.
The Portuguese scored a double in 22 minutes from a free kick and finished off his performance with another goal in the 42nd minute. He also assisted Abdulmajeed Al Sulayhim on the brink of half-time to make it 5-0, while he gave the pass to Mané who made 3-0 in the 33rd minute.
The forward, now 39 years old, remains intractable in front of goal in the current season, as he accumulates 42 goals in 41 appearancessigning eight in the last four official matches and 17 in the 13 most recent matches.
His first two goals against Abha came via free kick, a facet in which he stood out during the dawn of his career and in recent years he has not scored as much, however, despite this with the goals he achieved This April 2 he surpassed what Diego Maradona did in his career and was only three away from reaching Lionel Messi’s figure.
Throughout his career, Ronaldo has scored 62 goals via direct free kick, just three less than the Argentine Lionel Messi has scored (65). Maradona, for his part, scored 61 free kick goals.
The last goal that Lionel Messi registers in this way It was in September 2023 when he scored against the Ecuadorian National Team in the Albiceleste’s 1-0 victory in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
The top scorer in history
With his hat trick on April 2, Cristiano Ronaldo continues to increase his distance from the rest of the professional footballers and has a total of 885 goals. The one who follows him most closely is precisely Lionel Messi with 826 goals.
Ronaldo’s next game will be on Friday, April 4 against Damac, there the Portuguese will be able to continue increasing his statistics. Messi, for his part, is recovering from an injury and could return to activity in the Concacaf Champions Cup against Monterrey.
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