Cristiano Ronaldo scored his goal number 981 of his competitive career and now he only has 19 more goals to score before reaching the coveted 1000th in pursuit of his great goal scorer. The famous Portuguese did this at the home of his club Al-Nassr against Neftchi (Fargona) in the second round of the group stage of the Asian Champions League, which the Saudis won with 3:1. Thus, Ronaldo and company won their first three points in the competition and recovered after the heavy defeat with 0:4 by Al-Ain at the start. Neftchi (Fargona) also remains with three points after the success in its first match against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya.
The match itself at the "Al-Awal Park" stadium in Riyadh started an hour late due to a threat warning from the Saudi authorities. This happened against the backdrop of intercepted missiles aimed at the capital, and it was later announced that the threat had passed and the match began.
The hosts took the lead in the 33rd minute through Angelo Gabriel, and in the 42nd minute Ronaldo's moment came. After a cross from Sadio Mane, Ayman Yahya chested the ball to the Portuguese, who spun and sent the leather ball into the net for 2:0. Thus, Al-Nasr's big star is now only 19 goals away from reaching four-figures.
After the break, the guests brought back the intrigue, as in the 51st minute Alisher Odilov took advantage of a defensive error and reduced the deficit.
However, the hopes of the Uzbeks received a heavy blow in the 65th minute, when Jamshid Iskandarov was sent off for a rough foul on Mohamed Simakan.
With a man more, Al-Nasr reached a third goal in the 78th minute. Then Anvar Gofurov sent the ball into his own goal while trying to intercept a cross from Samu Costa and shaped the final score.
The next challenge for Ronaldo and company will be at the championship level, as on October 15 (Thursday) at 21:00 Bulgarian time, Al-Nasr will have a visit from Al-Ahly. The match between the two teams is part of the ninth round of the Saudi Arabian Premier League and, if successful, the champions could top the provisional standings.