Al Nassr and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo announced his return from injury in sensational style by scoring twice in a 5-2 victory over bottom side Al Najmah in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo was out of action for a month as he recovered from a hamstring injury picked up during a win over Al Fayha.
Ronaldo then moved to Spain as he completed his rehabilitation.
The Portuguese forward missed Al Nassr’s previous two league matches and was also ruled out of Portugal’s friendlies against Mexico and the United States last month.
The 41-year-old joined Al Nassr at the end of last month as he worked his way back to match fitness.
And on Friday, Ronaldo showed he was back to his best.
Al Najmah, who have won only once in 27 league games, took a surprise lead a minute before halftime through Rakan Al Tulayhi.
Al Nassr hit back immediately, with Abdullah Al Hamdan and Sadio Mane scoring in first-half stoppage time to regain the upper hand.
The visitors drew level two minutes after the restart when Felippe Cardoso struck as the match got tense. Then, Ronaldo stepped up as Al Nassr regained control with the Portugal star converting a penalty in the 56th minute.
The 41-year-old added his second in the 73rd minute before Mane sealed the win with a stoppage-time strike.
Ronaldo was ecstatic with the effort, expressing his delight on social media.
“It’s good to be back. We move forward together!” Ronaldo posted on X.
Al Nassr’s 13th straight league victory kept them on top of the standings on 70 points, six clear of second-placed Al Hilal, who play Al Taawoun on Saturday.
It was a memorable match for Ronaldo as it was also his 100th appearance in the competition. With their 13th consecutive win, Al Nassr also equalled the club’s longest streak set in 2014.
Ronaldo also took his career goals tally to 967.
