Cristiano Ronaldo has gone from goal scorer to chance creator, proving two assists, which included a simply stunning through-ball, to help Al-Nassr defeat Al-Taawoun 2-1 in the Saudi Pro League on Friday night.
Despite having scored five goals in his last two matches, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was unable to get on the scoresheet in the match, but showed his exceptional vision to split The Wolves’ defence with a sublime through-ball.
His pass was met Abdulrahman Ghareeb, who whizzed through to go one-on-one with the goalkeeper and expertly polished off the move, chipping the ball around the keeper to put the home side 1-0 up.
It seems the 38-year-old is starting to settle into life in Saudi Arabia after a slow start that saw him fail to get on the scoresheet in his opening three games.
And while he overtook Joseph Bican to become the game’s all-time leading goal scorer last year, it seems he has now turned to adding a few assists to his game, running to celebrate with Ghareeb before raising his hands in elation at his teammates goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo provided two assists during Al-Nassr’s 2-1 win against Al-Taawoun on Friday
Ronaldo sent a stunning pass through to Abdulrahman Ghareeb who put his side 1-0 up
Knights of Najd then were brought back a peg with Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate Alvaro Medran pulling the visitors level with a lovely side-footed finish into the back of the net.
And they could have gone another goal up moments later through Leandre Tawamba, but the Cameroonian striker’s goal was disallowed for offside.
Despite failing to score in the match, Ronaldo tested the Al-Taawoun goalkeeper several times, notably lashing several shots at the keeper before unselfishly tapping the ball back to Abdullah Madu who fired home for the second.
The win sends Al-Nassr level on points at the top of the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ittihad, who beat Ettifaq 3-0 on Thursday.
The Portugal legend failed to score but did test opposition goalkeeper Maylson several times
But after joining Al-Nassr on a record deal that will see the Portuguese superstar earn £175-million-a-year, his impact is starting to pay off at the club.
Despite a rocky few months, departing Manchester United in unsavoury circumstances, before suffering a heartbreak exit at the World Cup with Portugal, the forward seems to be back enjoying his football again.
Ronaldo’s last minute penalty against Al-Fateh two weeks ago helped the Knights of Najd secure a valuable point that may prove crucial in their bid for the title.
He then went on to surpass 500 career league strikes, netting a stunning quartet of goals against Al-Wehda, to lift his side even further up the table.
source: dailymail.co.uk
