Ronaldo hits iconic SIUU celebration as Al Nassr beat Al Wahda 4-2 in friendly clash—how close is CR7 to 1,000 goals?
It appears that Cristiano Ronaldo, despite his age, cannot stop scoring. Weeks after hitting a bicycle kick that left the internet stunned, the Portuguese maestro delivered the goods yet again on Wednesday, scoring in Al Nassr’s 4-2 win over Al Wahda and hitting his iconic SIUUU! celebration at the Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
With the Saudi Pro League on break and not set to resume till 21 December, the two sides met on Wednesday for a friendly, which, in spite of its non-competitive nature, was expected to be a high-intensity clash.
Despite it not being a competitive fixture, Ronaldo began the match in full throttle, opening the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute, with a right-footed strike into the near bottom corner following a clever set play from the corner by Jorge Jesus’ side.
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While it didn’t take long for Al Wahda to get back into the game, with Facundo Kruspzky scoring in the 20th minute, Al Nassr took the lead again in the 30th minute, this time through a powerful shot to the top right corner by French World Cup finalist Kingsley Coman.
Al Wahda, however, persisted, coming back yet again with 35th minute equaliser from Serbian midfielder Dušan Tadić.
Both teams went into the half-time break level, but it would be Jorge Jesus’ men who would have the last laugh.
As the second half began, it did not take Al Nassr long to score, with the away side taking the lead through Haroune Camara a mere 10 minutes after the resumption of play.
Despite Al Wahda putting up a fight, the wind was taken out of the home side after Saad Fahad Al Nasser buried the ball in the back of the net, putting the away side up 4-2.
With minutes left to play in the friendly, the pace of the game died down, and Al Nassar walked over the finish line comfortably.
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Ronaldo’s march to 1,000 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo, who looks set to breach the 1,000 career goals mark, is currently at 954 goals, a mere 46 away from the pinnacle of statistical greatness in football.
Although CR7 added one more to his tally against Al Wahda on Wednesday, it will not count towards the tally since the goal was scored in a friendly.
Ronaldo’s last goal, his 954th, came in late November, during Al Nassr’s 4-1 thrashing of Al Khaleej, where CR7 stunned the world by pulling off an exquisite right-footed bicycle kick.
The Portuguese forward is also currently Al Nassr’s and the league’s second highest scorer this season, with 10 goals, just one behind his compatriot and teammate Joao Felix.
With the Saudi Pro League set to resume action in less than two weeks’ time, all eyes will be on CR7 as he continues to defy age and produce numbers.
Al Nassr current sit on top of the Saudi Pro League, with 27 points from nine games—a 100% win record.
