Cristiano Ronaldo continues to add to his goal tally. The Portuguese star scored his 981st professional goal in Al Nassr’s 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fargona on the second matchday of the Asian Champions League, in a game that began an hour late due to a security alert in Riyadh.
The match, played at King Saud University Stadium, was in doubt due to missile threats that jeopardized security in the Saudi capital. During warm-ups, the players had to return to the locker rooms following warnings from authorities and announcements over the stadium’s public address system. Once the situation calmed down, both teams returned to the field, and the match proceeded as normal.
Al Nassr found the path to victory in the 30th minute, when Brazilian Angelo capitalized on a back pass from Nawaf Boushal to beat goalkeeper Botirali Ergashev from the penalty spot.
The Saudi team had already suffered a key loss in the 15th minute, when Frenchman Kingsley Coman sustained a muscle injury and had to leave the field. Ayman Yahya came on in his place and ended up playing a key role in the home team’s offense.
Before halftime, Yahya set up Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished with a half-turn to score Al Nassr’s second goal and reach 981 goals in his professional career.
Neftchi reacted at the start of the second half. Alisher Odilov scored in the 51st minute, restoring hope for the Uzbek side, which was looking to pull off an upset on the road.
However, with 15 minutes remaining, an own goal by Anvarjou Gofurov sealed the match and secured a 3-1 victory for Al Nassr.
With this result, the Saudi team secured its first victory in the continental competition, after beginning its campaign with a 4-0 rout at the hands of Al Ain. Cristiano Ronaldo, for his part, found the back of the net once again and continues to close in on the historic milestone of 1,000 goals.
