The rich Al Nassr was held to a 1-1 draw by the visiting team Al Raed in the opening match of the 2024-2025 Saudi Pro League season on the morning of August 23, despite Cristiano Ronaldo scoring as usual.
A major turning point came when Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal in the 76th minute was ruled out for offside. The Portuguese star received a good pass in the box and put the ball into the Al Raed net. However, after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was disallowed by the referees.
Al Nassr coach Luis Castro was unhappy with the decision and expressed his opinion in the post-match press conference that Ronaldo’s goal was wrongly disallowed. He also believed that Al Nassr deserved a penalty that was not recognized by the referee.
Ronaldo opened the scoring for Al Nassr after a tricky header against Al Raed. Photo: GETTY.
Luis Castro angrily said: “The cancellation of Ronaldo’s goal was incorrect. The referees did not seem to coordinate well, not only in this situation. We should have had a penalty.” The Al Nassr coach was perhaps even more regretful when his students dominated the game with 73% possession, launching 28 shots towards the Al Nassr goal but only one was successful, while Al Raed only had 7 shots.
The Yellows have had a difficult start to the season. Al Nassr lost to arch-rivals Al Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup despite leading 1-0 at half-time. Their domestic rivals quickly turned things around in the second half, scoring four goals in just 17 minutes.
The opening match of the Saudi Arabian national championship, Ronaldo opened the scoring as usual but unfortunately the Portuguese superstar’s team was left with a draw. However, Cristiano Ronaldo achieved an important personal milestone in the opening match of Al Nassr when he scored his first goal to complete 50 goals in the Saudi Premier League.
The Portuguese star scored the most goals for Real Madrid . Photo: GETTY.
Since joining Al Nassr in January 2023 after his contract with Manchester United was terminated, Ronaldo has maintained his impressive scoring form. In 67 matches for Al Nassr in all competitions, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 61 goals and provided 16 assists. Al Nassr also congratulated Ronaldo on his opening goal with the message: “50 goals in the Saudi Pro League and counting!”.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring record has been impressive for every club he has played for in his career . CR7 is Real Madrid’s all-time leading scorer , with 450 goals and 131 assists in 438 games for Los Blancos.
Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018 after nine years at the Santiago Bernabeu. In 134 games for the Italian giants, he scored 101 goals and provided 22 assists. Despite not being a prolific goalscorer in his early days at Manchester United, Ronaldo scored 145 goals in 346 games for the Red Devils (over two spells).
Cristiano Ronaldo and his Al Nassr teammates will face Al Feiha in their next match in the Saudi Pro League on August 27.
