(PLO)- The 38-year-old Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo once again starred in the tough match Al Nassr defeated Al Taawoun to return to the top of the Saudi Pro League table.
Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be settling down in his “new home” in Saudi Arabia. Al Nassr welcomed unpleasant opponent Al Taawoun in Saudi Pro League last night (February 17) with the goal of winning 3 points to return to the top of the table. Ronaldo once again started and still carries the Al Nassr armband.
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Ronaldo has just scored 4 goals in Al Nassr’s last match and he continued to play the main role in the victory over Al Taawoun by assisting both goals for the home team.
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Ronaldo has an assist to tear the opponent’s defense apart for his teammates to score. PHOTO: SKY SPORTS |
In the first half, Ronaldo made a world-class assist to tear Al Taawoun’s defense for Abdulrahman Ghareeb. The player broke through in front of the opponent’s box and then shot from the corner to beat Taawoun’s keeper Maison to open the score 1-0 for Al Nassr.
Ronaldo immediately sprinted towards Ghareeb. The Portuguese player raised his hand in celebration. CR7 was the first to run up to Ghareeb and hug his teammate to congratulate. When the Al Nassr players returned to their own half to continue the game, one could see Ronaldo smiling.
That remarkable reaction shows that Ronaldo is enjoying his football and being a part of Al Nassr. Al Nassr continued to dominate the game for the remainder of the first half. At the end of the first half, Ronaldo had a smart run, creating conditions for Ghareeb to cross, this player stretched inward towards Ronaldo.
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Ronaldo happily celebrates Al Nassr’s opening goal. PHOTO: SKY SPORTS |
Goalkeeper Maylson and defender Naldo coordinated to save the cross and it seemed that Naldo let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area. Al Nassr’s players, including Ronaldo, immediately demanded a penalty. Captain Al Nassr ran straight to the referee, clapping his arm to signal that Naldo had blocked the ball with his hand but there was no penalty for Al Nassr.
That made the Portuguese star extremely angry, even after the first half whistle sounded. Ronaldo was seen walking down the tunnel and towards the match officials shouting “Wake up”.
Ronaldo’s disappointment increased when Al Taawoun leveled the score at 1-1 in the second half thanks to Alvaro Medran’s goal. Ronaldo then missed a great opportunity to give Al Nassr the lead.
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Ronaldo angrily reacted to the match official as he entered the tunnel. PHOTO: SKY SPORTS |
In the second half, Al Nassr continued to have 2, 3 situations requiring a penalty but the referee still said no, including Ronaldo’s ball collided with goalkeeper Maylson and fell in the penalty area. Al Taawoun then had one more ball into the net of Al Nassr, but fortunately for Ronaldo’s team, VAR then stepped in to determine Al Taawoun’s player was in an offside position.
Al Nassr dropped to third place before entering the match with Al Taawoun, because two opponents Al Itiihad and Al Shabab both had early victories to temporarily overcome Al Nassr. Al Nassr needs a win against the fifth ranked team, Al Taawoun to reclaim the top spot.
After scoring only 1 goal in his first 3 matches for Al Nassr, Ronaldo scored 4 goals in the next match. Coach Rudi Garcia is pleased to confirm that Ronaldo has integrated and feels more comfortable with his new teammates.
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The ball Naldo let the ball touch his hand in the penalty area, but Al Nassr was not awarded a penalty. PHOTO: SKY SPORTS |
Al Nassr coach Rudi Garcia said: “Ronaldo has reached a great stage of identification and integration with his teammates. Over time, the team-mates will understand what Ronaldo wants and when he will score. I think it’s a good night for Cristiano Ronaldo because he’s scored four goals.”
Indeed, Ronaldo’s integration was made more evident by the superb assist for Ghareeb’s finish. And 12 minutes before the end of the game, Ronaldo had another assist, although it came accidentally, but helped Al Nassr find the goal that decided the match.
In the 78th minute, Ronaldo blocked the ball from the shot that seemed to miss the goal of his teammates. Ronaldo’s block was perfect to every inch for Abdullah Madu to kick the ball into the net to seal a 2-1 victory for Al Nassr.
Initially, the referee disallowed the goal because he thought Ronaldo was offside. But after reviewing the VAR, the referee recognized the goal as valid. Ronaldo was so confident and upbeat that he celebrated with his teammates before the referee recognized the goal.
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Ronaldo repeatedly ran to the referee to ask for a pen but failed. PHOTO: SKY SPORTS |
A hard-fought victory with a score of 2-1 against Al Taawoun helped Al Nassr return to the top of the Saudi Pro League table. Al Nassr, Al Itiihad (17 games) and Al Shabab (18 games) have the same 40 points, but Cristiano Ronaldo’s team is at the top thanks to more difference.
After the match, Cristiano Ronaldo posted a series of photos of Al Nassr’s victory with the message: “First place and 3 important points. The whole team did a great job.”
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PHAM QUANG