By our Riyadh Correspondent
CRISTIANO RONALDO moved one step closer to the magic 1,000-goal mark as Al-Nassr survived a late scare to beat Damac 2-1 in Abha.
The Portuguese superstar, 40, was the man of the hour yet again, netting his 960th career goal to ensure the Riyadh giants kept the heat on league leaders Al-Hilal.
It wasn’t just the Ronaldo show, though. Former Liverpool hero Sadio Mane and ex-Chelsea loanee Joao Felix were at the heart of everything as the Saudi heavyweights ground out a vital three points on the road.
Al-Nassr didn’t wait around to make their mark.
Just five minutes in, Abdulrahman Ghareeb—who has been in red-hot form lately—slotted home after a clever ball from Kingsley Coman.
The visitors dominated the first half, with Joao Felix looking every bit the £100m talent.
The Portuguese playmaker was unlucky not to score himself, rattling the crossbar and forcing a string of saves as Damac struggled to cope with the “Yellow Castle’s” star-studded frontline.
But the moment the fans at the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Sports City Stadium came to see arrived five minutes into the second half.
Felix turned provider, sliding a perfectly weighted pass through the heart of the Damac defense. Ronaldo timed his run to perfection, took one touch, and delicately clipped the ball into the bottom corner.
It was his 16th league goal of the season and left him just 40 goals shy of the historic four-figure milestone.
Damac, currently fighting a relegation scrap, refused to lie down.
Jamal Harkass gave the home side hope in the 68th minute, rising highest at a corner to power a header past Raghid Najjar.
Ronaldo thought he had bagged a second late on to settle the nerves, but the linesman’s flag cut his celebrations short. Despite a frantic final ten minutes, Al-Nassr held firm to move within four points of the top.
