Cristiano Ronaldo continues scoring streak as Al Nassr beat Al Taawoun

By Sports Desk December 30, 2023

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 54th goal of 2023 as Al Nassr came from behind to beat Al Taawoun 4-1 in the Saudi Pro League.

Aschraf El Mahdioui gave the home side the lead in the 13th minute, but Marcelo Brozovic finished off a swift passing move to equalise and former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte headed the visitors in front from a 35th-minute corner.

Al Taawoun were guilty of contributing to their own downfall five minutes into the second half as they attempted to pass their way out of their own six-yard box, instead simply gifting the ball to Otavio to make it 3-1.

Ronaldo had to wait until the second minute of stoppage time to head home the final goal of the game, the Portuguese star’s 20th in 18 league games this season.

The game marked the anniversary of Ronaldo signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with Al Nassr following the end of this second spell with Manchester United.

The win ensured Al Nassr again closed to within seven points of league leaders Al Hilal, who won 2-0 at Al Fayha on Friday.

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  • Mitrovic clinches last-gasp success for Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal Mitrovic clinches last-gasp success for Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal

    Aleksandar Mitrovic produced a last-gasp winner for Al-Hilal as the Saudi Pro League champions signed off with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Al-Wedha on Monday.

    Jorge Jesus' side finished the league campaign unbeaten across the 34-game season, though needed late heroics from top scorer Mitrovic to snatch all three points.

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    Much will be made of the record-breaking Ronaldo, who has scored 50 goals in as many games across all competitions this season.

    Yet Al-Nassr were dominant from the off in this one, mustering nine shots on target to Al-Ittihad's three, while accumulating 2.73 expected goals (xG) – far superior to the visitors' 1.43 xG.

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