Cristiano Ronaldo scored from a free kick with Al-Nassr this Saturday, March 18. FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo scored from a free kick with his Saudi club Al-Nassr in the league. Before leaving the victory penalty to a teammate.
A few days from returning to the Portugal selection, Cristiano Ronaldo is keeping in shape with Al-Nassr, the Saudi Arabian club he joined this winter. On Saturday, the 38-year-old striker played his 8th Saudi league game and scored his 9th goal against Abha (2-1 victory).
Long trailing, Al-Nassr equalized through his star in the 78th minute. Ronaldo recalled the good old days when he scored with a distant full-axis free kick. The fivefold Ballon d’Or can however thank the wall, pierced by his strike, and perhaps also the Franco-Cameroonian goalkeeper, Devis Epassy, not free from any reproach.
Al-Nasser is the second champion of Saudi Arabia
At the very end of the match, Al-Nassr benefited from a penalty that Ronaldo… did not shoot. The Portuguese left the ball to his Brazilian teammate, Talisca. The former Benfica player did not shake (86th) and thus offered victory to Al-Nassr, 2nd in the standings one point behind Al-Ittihad after 21 days (out of 30).
Ronaldo has been called up by new Portugal coach Roberto Martinez for the upcoming Seleção matches. Portugal will face Liechtenstein (Thursday March 23) and Luxembourg (Sunday March 26) in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
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