Ronaldo hat-trick fires Al Nassr to 5-3 thriller over Al Kholood, leaving him 15 goals short of 1,000
Cristiano Ronaldo led Al Nassr to a thrilling 5-3 win over visitors Al Kholood on Thursday evening, 29 October, at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh in round 12 of the Roshn Saudi League. The Portuguese star scored a second-half hat-trick in just 15 minutes, taking his professional career total to 985 goals, 15 short of the 1,000 mark.
Al Kholood made the better start and went ahead through Domingues in the 16th minute. Brazilian forward Angelo equalised in the 24th minute and Senegal's Sadio Mané put Al Nassr in front in the 38th. The visitors hit back quickly, with Essomba levelling in first-half stoppage time to make it 2-2 at the break.
Ronaldo settled the game after the interval. He made it 3-2 in the 66th minute, added the fourth in the 72nd and completed his hat-trick in the 81st to make it 5-2. Domingues pulled one back from the penalty spot in the fourth minute of stoppage time for his second goal of the night. João Félix finished the match with four assists.
The win lifted Al Nassr to 28 points and second place in the table, in a tight race at the top with Al Qadsiah, while Al Kholood stayed on 12 points in tenth place, after a fifth consecutive defeat.
Al Majlis Analysis: The match showed two sides of Al Nassr's season. The team has the attacking power to settle any game within a quarter of an hour, yet it conceded three goals at home to a side sitting tenth, a figure that should prompt the coaching staff to review their defensive organisation before the big games in the title race. Ronaldo's treble is not just a personal number; it is evidence that his partnership with João Félix has become the team's most important weapon, with Félix setting up four goals in a single night. With only 15 goals left to the 1,000 mark, every appearance by the Al Nassr captain is turning into an event followed well beyond the Saudi league, strengthening the Roshn Saudi League's place on the global football stage and its commercial value.