Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after their 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Sunday night. Getty Images
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after their 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Sunday night. Getty Images
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after their 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Sunday night. Getty Images
Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after their 3-1 win over Al Fateh on Sunday night. Getty Images

Saudi Pro League: Cristiano Ronaldo fires Al Nassr to victory while Ivan Toney nets brace in Al Ahli rout


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Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 14th goal of the Saudi Pro League season as Al Nassr beat Al Fateh 3-1 to reclaim third spot in the table and close the gap on the top two.

Ronaldo, who converted Sadio Mane's pass in the 87th minute to put the result beyond doubt, celebrated in trademark fashion and then declared via his Instagram account: “We’re not stopping.”

The win closed the gap on second-placed Al Ittihad and leaders Al Hilal to eight points, with the top two in action on Monday night. Al Nassr's primary concern will be locking down third place and the final Asian Champions League spot.

They took the lead on Sunday after 41 minutes when Marwana Saadane of Al Fateh put through his own goal. Mohamed Simakan then doubled Nassr's advantage in the 57th minute with a well-placed header.

Al Fateh got back into the game when Mourad Batna struck from the edge of the box on 72 minutes after a blunder from Nassr keeper Bento.

But Ronaldo, who had earlier seen a first-half effort disallowed, secured the three points when he fired home from close range. There was still time for VAR to deny him a second, though, after he had crashed home from a narrow angle.

Ronaldo remains in contract talks with Nassr, with the club reported to be ready to hand the Portuguese star a lucrative extension. His current deal expires in the summer. The Riyadh club have also been linked with a move for his former Real Madrid teammate Casemiro, currently out of favour at Manchester United, ahead of Thursday night's SPL transfer deadline.

Elsewhere, Al Ahli put Al Riyadh to the sword in Jeddah with an emphatic 5-0 victory at King Abdullah Sports City on Sunday night.

Al Ahli, who sit fifth in the table, also have aspirations of a top-three finish and have their sizeable former Premier League cohort to thank for this latest victory.

Former Brentford striker Ivan Toney fired them ahead as he chested down a ball over the top and shot past the keeper for a smart finish – his sixth goal in 14 games since moving to the kingdom.

Ziyad Aljohani doubled the lead on the hour as he headed the second after Al Riyadh failed to clear a corner. The floodgates opened as Roberto Firmino scored the third from close range just moments later.

Toney tucked home the fourth from the penalty spot before Riyad Mahrez completed the rout with the pick of the goals – a spectacular finish from outside the box.

Also on Sunday night, 10-man Al Taawoun were held at home by relegation-threatened Al Orobah and Al Khaleej moved up to seventh with a 2-1 victory over Al Okhdood.

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North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Country-size land deals

US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:

Louisiana Purchase

If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.

Florida Purchase Treaty

The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty. 

Alaska purchase

America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of  Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".

The Philippines

At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million. 

US Virgin Islands

It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.

Gwadar

The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees. 

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Groom and Two Brides

Director: Elie Semaan

Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

Rating: 3/5

Updated: January 27, 2025, 12:01 PM