Cristiano Ronaldo scored what proved to be the decisive goal in Al Nassr‘s Asian Champions League Elite win over Neftchi Fergana on Monday in Saudi Arabia.
The match was delayed for an hour as Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued a security alert after the coalition said it had twice intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched Monday by the Houthi rebels toward Riyadh. At least three explosions could be heard Monday night in the city.
A sparse crowd at Al-Awwal Park remained in their seats as the teams waited to kick off.
The goal by 41-year-old Ronaldo — the 981st of his career — doubled Al Nassr’s lead just before the break after Ângelo Gabriel had opened the scoring just past the half-hour mark. It was the 134th goal for Ronaldo since joining Al Nassr in January 2023.
The visitors cut the lead in half after coming out of the dressing room with a goal from Alisher Odilov, but an own goal put Al Nassr back in front by two and they were able to see out the 3-1 result from there.
It was the first win of the campaign for head coach Ange Postecoglou and Al Nassr in Asia’s premier club competition after they had lost their opener to Al Ain 4-0 on Sept. 15.
The loss to Al Ain came ahead of an eventful international break for Ronaldo, who left the Portugal national team in the middle of the window after a misunderstanding with coach Jorge Jesus over playing time.
Ronaldo subsequently apologized to his teammates and supporters, admitting he should not have left the camp and calling on the federation to punish him for his actions.
The FPF confirmed Saturday that disciplinary proceedings had been opened against Ronaldo, with the case referred to its Disciplinary Investigation Commission.
The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed a series of recent missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, including strikes on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport that killed at least 13 people and wounded over 300 over the weekend.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Global Research was used in this report.
