Forward Cristiano Ronaldo provided an assist to help Al Nassr secure a 3-1 victory over the home team, Al Feiha, in the 11th round of the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo came to King Salman Stadium with a streak of scoring four goals for the Portuguese national team and Al Nassr, but this time, he didn’t have the chance to score. He attempted six shots during the match, but none troubled the home team’s goalkeeper, as two went wide, and the opposition’s defenders blocked four. The 38-year-old forward also attempted two dribbles but failed to get past his opponents, resulting in him receiving a rating of only 6.8 from Sofascore statistics, which is the lowest among Al Nassr players.
Despite not scoring a goal, Ronaldo left his mark with an assist that set up forward Anderson Talisca’s low corner shot to open the scoring in the 50th minute. This was Ronaldo’s sixth assist of the season, helping him climb to the top of the league’s assist chart alongside Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahli) and Mourad Batna (Al Fateh). This means that Ronaldo is also leading in both the goal-scoring chart (11 goals) and the assist chart in the league.
Al Feiha currently sits in eighth place in the Saudi League and is ranked 606th in the world according to Opta’s strength index, just behind the Southeast Asian club Johor Darul Tazim (Malaysia). However, in both encounters with Al Feiha this year, Ronaldo failed to score. In the previous match, he even exchanged words with the opponents and did not shake hands with the opposing coach after Al Nassr played to a goalless draw with Al Feiha. But this time, Al Nassr won 3-1, and Ronaldo appeared to be in good spirits after the game, applauding and showing gratitude to the home crowd.
Al Nassr currently occupies the second position in the Saudi League and is ranked 82nd in the world. Therefore, they still have enough star power to make a difference even when Ronaldo doesn’t score. Compared to the draw against Al Feiha mentioned earlier, Al Nassr has added renowned players like Sadio Mane, Otavio, Seko Fofana, and Alex Telles. Their superior attacking reputation helped the visiting team win their sixth consecutive away match, with a brace from Talisca and another goal from Otavio.
In their recent nine matches in the Saudi League, Al Nassr has won eight and drawn one, narrowing the gap with league leaders Al Hilal to just four points. In the upcoming rounds, they will face three teams from the lower half of the standings before taking on Al Hilal in the 15th round on December 1st.
